First Test
by Ys
Summary: [Complete] Bucky is back on his feet, but things are happening at the New Avengers Facility that points to someone willing to awaken the Winter Soldier. Part two in the "Building A New Life" series.
1. A Strange Meeting

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

"Sir? Sir? Uh... Sergeant? Sergeant Barnes?"

She was shaking his shoulder, taking care of touching only the right one. He finally let out a groan.

"Sergeant Barnes?"

"Winter Soldier," he muttered. Each time he woke disoriented, it was all he could think of.

"No, you're... you're Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. Bu-Bucky."

"Bucky's dead. The Winter Soldier is all that's left." He rolled on his feet and looked at her. It was dark, but there was enough rays of light to be able to see her face, which was vaguely familiar. Enough light to see her shook her head.

"James Barnes is not dead," she insisted.

The light was also enough to see she was terrified.

"You're scared of me," he stated.

"No-o, not, not of you. Of hurting you."

"Hurting me?" His face betrayed nothing of his surprise.

"I-I know nothing! I could tri-trigger something HYDRA did to you and then you'd feel guilty."

He closed on her. "Guilty for what?"

Strangely there was no more fear when she looked up in his blue eyes. "If you hurt me, you'd feel guilty."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Wait, what do you know about HYDRA?"

"Only... only the decoded thing on Internet and what it is said in New Avengers Facility."

"Oh! So you're one of Stark's. That's where I've seen you."

"I doubt you've _seen_ me," she muttered.

He understood quite well what she meant and had a ghost of a smile. "And you probably have _seen_ Steve Rogers or Thor..."

"No, I've seen _you_."

He let out a bark of laughter. "Me? The traumatised assassin, the broken killing machine? Not Captain America? You've got to be kidding me."

She came near to him and jabbed at his chest. "Now, you hear me, mister, you stop thinking like that!" she shouted at him. "You stop–" She suddenly seemed to realise who she was shouting at and deflated. "Sorry," she murmured.

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm mostly okay now."

"Yeah, well, that's the mostly I'm afraid of," she replied a bit cheekily.

"You have the advantage on me, ma'am. I don't know your name."

"Since you insist on being the Winter Soldier, call me the Summer Wallflower."

He glared at her but she probably couldn't see as well as he did, so she didn't react.

"Where are we?"

"Caved in."

-o-o-

He rubbed his head, trying to remember what had happened before he woke up next to this... infernal woman. The ground was covered in rubble and the rays of light did not come from windows as he had believed at first but from holes in the ceiling. Speaking of the ceiling, now that they were silent, he could hear it creak ominously. He looked around. No trace of a door.

"How did we arrive here?"

She pointed to a hole in the ceiling, except that it was so high that there was no hope of reaching it. Maybe if he could find something to step on, he could lift her... Now, who was he trying to fool? He knew he could get out. Getting _her_ out was another matter.

"How, Summer?" he repeated. "I mean, that I find myself caved in during or after a battle, I can understand. But you? Did you jump after me? You would have broken an ankle or something. How did you not break an ankle?"

"Em... You sort of... cushioned my fall. You took the brunt of it."

"This looks like a shed. Building in stone. A buried stone shed? How did we arrive here?"

"You really don't remember anything, Bucky?" she asked gently.

He growled. Last time he had let someone he didn't know well call him Bucky, he had turned him into the Winter Soldier.

"Sorry, sorry! Sergeant Barnes. Mr. Stark would be very displeased with me if I were to call one of the Avengers by a nickname."

"If Stark cares a little for you, he would not have you near me at all."

"Yeah, well, there's only so much he can ask from me," she murmured. Didn't she know about his enhanced hearing? She cleared her voice. "We were in the helicopter, Sergeant Barnes, and we got shot."

"What the hell were you doing in that chopper?"

"I was your pilot, Sergeant Barnes."

"So we fell from the chopper and then crashed through the ceiling down to the ground and you're not dead?" He walked on her so purposefully that she scuttled back until her shoulder blades pressed against a wall. "I can feel the pain in my back, though not enough to stop me. You don't even have a scratch."

"Who said I fell from the helicopter?" she replied with a small voice, twisting her head against the wall to be able to look at him. He could see her eyes had gotten wide. His hands fell on her shoulders, though he was careful with the left one.

"Now, I'm not known to be very patient. I would like to know what happened before I... _accidentally_ kill you because I think it's a trap."

"What do you remember, Bu– Sergeant Barnes?"

That was the problem. He didn't remember anything, past a conversation with Steve, about a reconnaissance, then, indeed, a pilot, helmet already on. He had not found it strange at the moment. He looked at her suspiciously.

-o-o-

She sighed. "Look, the helicopter got shot, but I managed to land. In the middle of nowhere, unfortunately. You didn't want to leave me behind because the helicopter exploded, so we left together and while trying to find out where we were, well, we fell through the ceiling. My helmet is the corner over there, if you don't believe me. I just thought that... you would freak out less if you saw my face rather than a helmet upon waking up."

Her words triggered some memories, but they didn't look like what she was retelling. Another forgotten memory trying to come to his attention?

"Why did you keep your helmet on after the explosion?"

Her shoulders sagged and she looked down. "I... I was not supposed to be with you, okay? And if we had gotten back easily, I didn't want you to know... well, that it was me."

"Not authorised to be near me, huh? Or not good enough for a pilot?"

"We didn't crash, did we?" But there was no fire in her voice and she still refused to look at him.

"So what? Stark doesn't trust me near you?" He would almost be amused. Almost.

"No." She huffed. "He doesn't trust _me_ near _you_. Says I'll do something stupid, like–"

"Like trigger the bad memories."

"Yeah."

"It's not that easy to activate the killing machine mode, especially now that I'm getting better. He must really care for you to lie like that. You're Pepper Potts's little sister or something like that? Or is he jealous?" he added, lowering his head to whisper at her ear.

Quick as a snake, she freed one of her hands to reach for his head and she turned up her face to kiss him. He froze.

Immediately she released him and tried so hard to scramble back that she hit her head against the wall.

"Sorry, Bu–sorry! _That_ 's why he doesn't trust me near you," she added miserably.

He didn't say anything but lifted his right hand to cradle her skull, checking gently for any wound. He had _heard_ her head hit the wall. He still hadn't given her any space to move away.

"Nobody ever tried that kind of therapy on me," he said softly.

"Yeah? Well, remember I'm volunteering if you decide to follow it." She closed her eyes. "Damn! I did it again."

He was at loss at what to say but then, his ears caught a faraway sound... that was getting nearer. He backed up and removed his left glove.

"Sergeant Barnes?"

"I think we're maybe going to find a way out of here. Stay back." He grabbed her with his right hand and dragged her behind him. He felt a feather touch on his hair but decided he had probably imagined it. Someone interested in the Winter Soldier, but not as a killing machine? Impossible. Since he's been redeemed, no woman had looked his way and in case they had, generally the bionic arm was enough to put them off.

-o-o-

As the ceiling exploded, he felt her retreat in the furthest corner and faced the foe alone. Five men in black came out of the smoke and dust and he did what he had done best for the last few years. No pity, no feeling, only a sense of survival. He fought with the grace of a cat and the deadly moves of a highly skilled predator. Then a sixth man he hadn't seen till now began saying random words in Russian and Bucky froze. He killed the fifth man without even noticing it, his brain knowing what those words meant and unable to stop them. He had already tried. Then he realised that last time he had tried, he had been in a prison pod, which was quite of hindering.

Then suddenly, she was by his side, her backpack on her back and a strange weapon in her hands. She aimed it at the speaking man, yelled "With the compliments of Tony Stark!" and fired. The man fell immediately and the words stopped. Why hadn't he done it himself? Bucky didn't know if she had been there soon enough; what if the sequence had been set in motion? She dropped her weapon and took his face in her hands. They were warm and he was feeling cold.

"Bu– Sergeant Barnes! Look at me! _James_!"

He said something in Russian. She shrugged impatiently. "I don't speak Russian. Look at me, please," she implored. "It's over, you're not the Winter Soldier. You're Bucky, my Bucky. I mean, you're Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes."

Slowly, he leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against her. "I thought you knew nothing about what they did to me."

She snorted but her arms slid around his neck to hold him near. "True, but one doesn't need to be a genius to understand what those random words were supposed to do, especially when they sounded Russian." She was caressing his hair now. "Are you all right?"

His right arm circled her waist to bring her closer to him and he closed his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be a freaking _pilot_?"

"Have you ever known Tony Stark to do things for only one reason? Figures he would do the same when hiring someone. I _am_ a pilot. It doesn't mean I can't shoot."

He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to witness... that."

"I would have been sorrier if they had killed you," she replied flippantly.

He laughed. It was rusty and strange, but it was indeed a laugh. He didn't remember last time he had laughed like that. He could see her smile. Delicately, in case she freaked out, he put his bionic hand on her back. Her smile widened. But he knew he had no right, even if he was taking advantage of every minute of it.

"That's what I am," he said, tilting his head toward the dead men.

"Nope. That's what they made you be, but that's not what you are, though you've known war most of your life."

"Obstinate."

"Look who's speaking."

Regretfully, he stepped back and turned to the men. He started piling them, putting the 'speaking man' under all of them.

"Here's the plan. I climb that pile, lift you to the ceiling, you get out and find a way to get me out too." In his mind, he added _If you want to_. On the other hand, if she didn't want to, he could get out by himself.

"No way. You climb that pile, you jump to the ceiling, and don't try to tell me you can't do it, and then find a way to get me out of it."

"Why?"

"Because if there are some HYDRA agents out there, I don't stand a chance. Maybe I can take one down, but five of them? I'm out of my league, there."

It made sense. But that was not what he had asked, rather why she trusted him. But he would not ask the question a second time. There was a chance he would not like the answer and there was another chance she would get annoyed.

-o-o-

He climbed up the pile and jumped on the wall, then toward the ceiling. His right fingertips grazed the edge but his left hand grasped it firmly. He half-lifted himself out at the strength of his arms and looked around. Nobody. He released his effort and let himself hang again by the fingers.

"Climb and jump. Grasp my ankles," he ordered.

"Are you crazy? I'm gonna make us fall."

"Do it. I can get us out."

She grumbled some more but he could hear her climb. Then her hands closed around his ankles and he pulled on his arms. It was a bit harder, but her weight was hardly a bother for his enhanced muscles. As soon as he was leaning outside on his elbows, she shifted her hold to only one of his ankles. He lifted his free leg on the edge and lying on the broken stones, he extended his hand to catch her. Belatedly, he realised it was his bionic arm. He should have lain on his other side. But she caught it as if nothing was out of the ordinary and he lifted her up to him.

"Thanks," she said as she scrambled up.

He did the same, looked at her and tapped a finger against her helmet.

"I know who you are now."

"Property of Stark company. Never leave any material behind if it can be avoided."

"About that. When you shot, you said 'with the compliments of Tony Stark'. Mind to explain?" he asked, starting to walk, his eyes scanning around.

"You mean you don't know? Every one of us who knows to use a weapon is required, if possible of course, to give his compliments each time we kill a HYDRA agent."

"I am a HYDRA agent."

She sighed in exasperation. "No, you're not. You're a HYDRA victim and if Mr. Stark could connect two brain cells from time to time, he would know it too."

He couldn't help it and smiled. That his pilot would treat the self-proclaimed genius like a brainless idiot was vastly amusing.

"This is officially the best day ever," she announced. "I made you laugh _and_ smile. I'm so damn proud of myself."

"You know, ever since Steve became Captain America, I've been used to become invisible. It didn't improve with what _I_ had become. Especially with a bionic arm. Nobody cared if I smiled or laughed. Except Steve," he added after a thought.

She shrugged. "Their loss."

He couldn't understand her. He was the Winter Soldier, a killer, not a woman's dream!

She growled at herself. "Sorry yet again. I'll stop being all over you. Someday."

If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he was interested in her only because she wasn't repulsed by what he was. He didn't court rejection; that was bad for his mental health. She glanced at him.

"Don't worry," she said softly, "that 'someday' will be soon if this thing deigns to work." She tapped her helmet. "As soon as we're back, Mr. Stark will put me under so many restraints that you won't see me for the rest of your life even if you live for another hundred years."

"I told you about the invisible thing, didn't I? Maybe I like it that I'm not invisible to you."

She had a bitter laugh. "You, a hero, and me, a little nothing? Ha!" She cut off any retort he could have made by adding, "Ah, now that we're outside of this shed, it receives the signal. Um. New Avengers Facility, do you copy?"

He could hear the reply in her helmet. "We hear you."

She glanced at him again and her lips twisted. "Winter– _Sergeant Barnes_ and pilot. We're down. Do you get our position?"

"Yes."

He turned around as he heard sounds behind him. She imitated him, saw armed men running toward them and yelled, "Then get us out _now_!"

-o-o-

This time, she didn't let him push her behind him and took place by his side, her weapon in her hand. "I know you don't need me," she announced, "but it will speed up things if I help you."

He dispatched his first man between two breaths and replied, "Do not think we're not going to speak about this 'little nothing' comment that you made."

Three more men down, then he got rid of a fifth one before he checked on her. She turned around, grinned at him from under the helmet and fired twice. "I forgot to ask you if you wanted to finish your recon."

"I think we found what we were supposed to," he said while taking care of the last ones.

Only they weren't the last ones, because as he was putting down the third one, he heard her scream, "Bucky!"

He turned around. Two men held her up and one of them had a gun pointed to her head, her helmet on the ground. He could hear the sound of a helicopter coming, but he didn't know if it was one of Stark's or one of HYDRA's.

"You are awaited," one of the men said. "Come with us nicely and we may let her live."

Bucky growled as he noticed blood running down her temple.

"Drop the guns," the second man instructed.

She struggled and the first man pulled her head back by the hair and pressed the gun more firmly against her jaw. Bucky dropped the guns. Unnoticed by the assailants, he grabbed the knives tucked in his pockets just next to his hands and he threw them immediately. His aim was true and for a brief moment, she looked at him, bewildered, then at the two men crumpled at her feet. He stepped forward, recovered first his guns, then his knifes and only when he had put his weapons away, did he look at her wound. She escaped his gentle hold as soon as he touched her.

"It's nothing!" she said, bending down to take her helmet and putting it on in a hurry.

Now she realised who he truly was, he thought, and of course, she was horrified. She looked up at him and seemed to understand what was going through his head.

"Oh, for the love of–" She came to him and hugged him. "Thank you." Then she stepped back and turned her back to him. "I... I don't take pity well," she explained.

"Pity?"

She hugged herself. "I know you were in a relationship with Black Widow, so maybe just right now, you're feeling a bit down for whatever reason, but still I know I don't compare with her and..."

A ladder unrolled in front of their nose. He grabbed her under his arm, seized the ladder and let the helicopter take them up.

"I don't know where this comes from, but don't think this conversation is over," he said as he pushed her in front of him so she could climb the ladder. The pilot glanced at them as they closed the door and returned to whatever conversation he was having.

"Winter Soldier and pilot recovered," he announced. "No wound apparent."

Upon seeing the grim line of her lips, he thought that there were hidden wounds and they were due to him.


	2. The Summer Flower

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

Tony Stark was waiting for them, as well as Steve. His friend had a relieved smile while seeing him unhurt but Tony just turned to her and began lashing at her.

"What do I have to tell you for you to understand? Are you out of your mind? He–"

"He found what you were looking for," she replied tiredly. "At least one mole in here, maybe two. We were shot down and they knew _he_ would be in the helicopter. They had someone from HYDRA, with the list of words used to condition him." She fumbled in her pocket and gave Tony a USB key. "Here are the memories of the helicopter, so you can analyse where the missile came from. Then, as soon as I contacted the tower, we were attacked again." She took off her helmet and her backpack and handed them to Tony. "I'll go nicely to my room, so you'll just have to activate the electronic lock." Then she took a breath. "Maybe have someone check him up, to be sure the sequence is not just waiting to be activated by the last words. And I think he got shot once."

Steve looked at Tony. "Didn't you tell her that he was cured?"

"I may have forgotten," Tony replied airily. " _He_ could have told her."

"I didn't even recall the chopper being shot. Besides, did we really try if I was cured?"

Steve looked concerned. "How's that, some memory problems?"

Bucky shrugged. "I remember the pilot arriving, you telling me about the recon. Then, next thing I know, I'm lying down in this buried shed and moments after, those men arrive and attack us."

Tony looked at her suspiciously. She raised her hands in defence. "Not me!" Then she lowered her head. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving, so you can speak of all the secret things I'm not supposed to know."

Bucky caught her arm as she was turning around. "Where can I find you?"

She threw a dirty look at Tony. "Locked in my room." And she left.

He turned toward Tony and Steve. "Why is she locked?"

"It's her own private joke. There is indeed an electronic lock on her room, but it's nothing she can't outdo. She's almost better than I am about that, to the point I sometimes listen to her."

He grabbed Tony. "Why?"

"Hey, buddy, I know you live here with Steve because you have nowhere else to go, that it wasn't really you who killed my parents, maybe even you regret it somehow, so perhaps I forgave you, but you still don't get the right to push me around."

"You don't remember why, Buck?"

"No. Should I? Why? I killed her family? She was one of my missions? Steve, I think I remember everything until that fall from the train, except maybe some things that happened in HYDRA's base, but since then, I have had my brain washed so often that I'm not sure of anything I seem to remember. Though I know all the names of the people haunting my mind. I know I'm not supposed to attack you, 'cause you're my best friend, and Tony and his people, but how I'm supposed to know if they're his or not, I don't know, and some other guys who are Avengers, but that's pretty much all. So?"

"You're usually not the type to exaggerate that much. And Shuri healed you."

"Steve, Shuri removed the hard-coded words from my head. She didn't touch any of my memories. HYDRA had already damaged them enough. So they work awkwardly."

"Well, you saved her several months ago."

He leaned against the wall, relief rushing through him. "Okay. That's good, no?" Then, as if those words had triggered some memories, he saw some things pass through his mind, a lab as he had known himself, the lights, a memory suppressing machine...

-o-o-

"From one of HYDRA's brainwashing bases," Steve confirmed. "We were there together, to dismantle it, and I thought we were done, when you insisted to search further. You discovered a hidden way that led to that room... She was tied to one of their chairs in it." Steve was studying him closely, but nothing he said awakened any new memory. "We took the program used to recondition her. She's been told over and over that the Winter Soldier had betrayed HYDRA and that she should kill him. _You_ are her mission."

"But... But no! She... I mean, she wasn't aggressive with me out there. Rather preoccupied with not hurting me."

"Since she's here, we've been trying to undo what HYDRA did to her. It seemed to work pretty well, but she's become obsessed with you. And Pepper took pity on her so she told her you were here. I don't think we've been able to truly keep her confined since then. She's following you everywhere."

"So, when she said that you didn't trust her near me, she wasn't kidding? I thought that was one of your jokes."

"Cap here wouldn't be happy with me if you were killed under my hospitality." He looked at the key she had given him. "Let's go analyse that. We can speak while the computers work."

Steve got him to tell everything. He felt a bit uncomfortable when relating some moments, especially when she had kissed him. Steve looked at him quite strangely. Tony snickered.

"So you're telling that we are all afraid that a HYDRA's killer attacks you and during this time, she's flirting with you?"

"Is she so good that you're afraid for me?"

"Buck... We're afraid _you_ 'll kill her and that it will destroy you. Especially since it seems you don't remember her being a killer."

"So, she's a pilot, a genius and a killer. Anything else I should know? Like why I don't remember a thing about her?"

Tony peered at the results of the analysis. "Yep. She was the target, not you. I mean, they knew you were here, since they were intent on using you to kill her, but they also knew she was here. Which is pretty much impossible, since she was not supposed to get out of here."

Bucky wondered how he could affirm such things looking at the recordings of the helicopter. Sometimes he wondered if Tony was not inventing things just because everyone was always trusting him when he announced breakthrough facts.

"Who knew she was taking control of the chopper?"

"The pilot she replaced," Bucky suggested. "I remember her arriving with the helmet on. But maybe you can ask her. She's not as deranged as I am, is she?"

Tony shrugged. "Good question. For all we know, she had a string of random words coded in her head to turn her into an assassin. Like pilot, helmet, helicopter, five or I don't know what."

He was almost shaking. Despite having heard the words countless times, he could never tell them back. He knew them. He _knew_ them and those weren't them. He didn't feel different and he was _cured_ , damn it! Tony was smirking at him.

-o-o-

"She... she kept saying that I wasn't the Winter Soldier, but that I was Sergeant Barnes."

"Are you telling me you want to go to see her?"

"We can go see her together."

She was still in her room and he could see that Tony was relieved she had not moved. She welcomed them with a cheerful smile. There were no signs she was conditioned, no empty eyes, no bleak face. Sometimes, Steve had told him what he looked like. He had even seen it on some videos.

"Did you bring oranges?" she asked brightly. "You know, for the prisoners?"

Tony grinned. "You're hardly a prisoner, since you took off gallivanting in a chopper. Who helped you?"

She blinked. "Helped me what?"

Bucky came toward her. "The pilot you replaced. Who was he?"

She smiled at him, but there was sadness in it. "I was not supposed to see you again, you know. Not for the next hundred years."

"I missed you. The pilot, Summer?"

She gave a name that didn't mean anything to him, but apparently it did to Tony. "Who else knew about you replacing him?"

"One of the radio operators. Not any pilot is authorised to fly with Sergeant Barnes, so I had to clear it with the operators. My voice was not exactly the same as the original pilot and besides, I don't think I was listed as official pilot, now, was I?"

"The one who answered your call when we got out of the shed?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Normally, it should have been the same, but I didn't recognise his voice."

"Thank you, Summer." He turned to leave, but at the door, keeping his back to her, he added, "By the way, the one who told you I was in a relationship with Black Widow... I hope they told you that I shot through her to accomplish one of my missions. I'm not safe to be around."

He closed the door behind him.

-o-o-

In the corridor, they were joined by Natasha.

"What's happening?" she asked as Tony was already dispatching orders to apprehend the pilot and the radio operator.

"The girl we got out from HYDRA's last base... She went on a little jaunt with one of the choppers and Barnes."

Natasha glanced at Bucky. "How did she do that?"

"We're still trying to find that out. How did you call her, Buck?"

"Summer. Wait, you said we saved her several months ago and you still don't know her name?"

"Each time we ask, we receive a blank stare for answer."

Bucky mulled over the answer, then said, "It's probably not her true name. When I asked her for her name, she told me that since I insisted to call myself the Winter Soldier, I just had to call her the Summer Wallflower."

Natasha stopped. "The Summer Flower? Barnes, tell me you know who she is."

He rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't."

"This is one of the most skilled Russian killers. You told me about the other Winter Soldiers. The Summer Flower is kinda the same thing, without the serum, and she's supposedly sane." She looked at Steve and Tony. "Go on with what you intended to do. I will proceed to a little test with Barnes here." She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"You still have the rest of your Winter Soldier uniform? The mask and the goggles?"

"I was given some new ones, yes." He looked down at his attire, which was as close as the one of the original Winter Soldier as he could. It was strange even to him how the uniform was the thing he was the most comfortable wearing, though he did don shirt and jeans when going in the streets like normal people did.

"Add some more weapons too," she suggested. "The gun in the back, that kind of things. And meet me near her room."

He had obeyed for so long that he did it again, though this time, he knew he would not be asked to kill anyone. He hoped.

-o-o-

He was fortunate enough not to meet any people in the elevator and the corridors, since they would certainly have freaked out when seeing the Winter Soldier back in action. They knew he was sometimes sent on mission with his original garb, a way to prove to HYDRA he was rehabilitated and that the Avengers were taking advantage of the formation he had been given, albeit against his will, but still, there was _knowing_ and there was _seeing_. Natasha was waiting for him and she looked him up.

"Perfect. You're absolutely terrifying."

"Yeah, I remember the look in your eyes on the bridge."

"Maybe because I was weapon less and with a shot in the shoulder."

"Maybe."

"Ready?"

"I don't know what you have in mind, Romanoff."

"When I give you the signal, you enter this room and scare the hell out of this Summer, trying to make her believe you're gonna kill her. If she's the real Summer Flower, do kill her."

He stared at her. "I... I hate you."

"It's going to get worse, Barnes." She sighed. "Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон," she said and watched him closely when he tensed. She had to believe it wouldn't do anything, that she wasn't starting where the man had stopped, that Shuri's cure had worked. "Солдат?" she asked.

"Я готов отвечать," he growled.

Her breath hitched. With the goggles and the mask, she had no way to know what he thought. Had she truly awakened the Winter Soldier?

"In there," she indicated.

He entered and Summer screamed.

-o-o-

He walked toward her purposefully and she retreated, looking around in panic. She was bound to have heard Natasha's words, who had said them loud enough for that purpose.

"I can't fight you," she said, pleading. "You know I can't, I don't have the training, and I don't want to fight you. _Nobody_ can fight you! Bucky, don't do that, please..."

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he replied, emotionless. His bionic hand grabbed her arm and she whimpered, trying to curl into a ball. Then she looked up at him with eyes full of tears.

"Don't do that, Bucky, don't let them win... You're not the Winter Soldier! Bucky?"

He heard Natasha enter the room. "Hello, Svetlana," she said in Russian.

Summer glanced at her, then back at Bucky. His right hand closed on her throat.

"I... don't speak Russian!" she gasped as he began lifting her from the ground. "Bucky, no!" She tried to struggle and he let her wiggle a bit. She was so terrified that she hadn't noticed his left hand had grabbed her belt and that he wasn't strangling her.

"Really, Svetlana, it's not a way to greet a compatriot," Natasha chided her. "You could have told me."

"I don't know who this 'Svetlana' is!" she cried out, the name probably being the only thing she understood from Natasha's speech. She wrapped her hands around Bucky's, trying to release his grip on her throat. "Please, Bucky..." Not a finger moved. She took a harsh breath, then slowly extended her hand toward his face, touching his mask, then pushing his hair aside. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I should have avoided you... Do what you have to do, I won't stop you." Then she closed her eyes and left her hands fall on her sides, stopping to fight.

"Soldier, stop," Natasha ordered, still in Russian. "Mission aborted. Return to your start point."

He lowered Summer to the ground and left without turning around. Once outside, he removed goggles and mask and remained in the corridor.

-o-o-

Natasha knelt by Summer, who had curled up on herself.

"That was a dangerous game you played here," she said, as if she hadn't heard Summer explaining she didn't speak Russian.

"I don't know who you are nor why you are doing that," she wept, "but why can't you leave him alone? And why did you stop him? I mean, I think you stopped him? Or are you going to torture me before making him come back to kill me?"

"Who are you?" Natasha spoke in English.

"Summer Rivers. I think. I don't remember for sure. Maybe I'm Russian, I don't know!" she sobbed.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a student in electronics and I took lessons in piloting," she said as if reciting a lesson.

"You know how to shoot!"

"Every able person in New Avengers Facility must know how to defend the site if needed. Orders of Mr. Stark."

"Bullshit. Who told you that?"

"Those who trained me. I don't know their names!" She uncurled, wiped away her tears and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Stop it already. I don't know anything, I'm nothing, so just kill me and be done with it. But I'm sure Mr. Stark won't be happy that someone was killed in his compound."

"He won't care if we eliminate the threat of a spy," Natasha hissed.

Her eyes widened. "Spy? I'm not one of HYDRA's! Or am I?" she asked, confused. "I... killed some HYDRA's men. Or are you telling me they weren't HYDRA's?"

"Oh, they were, but it was a perfect way not to blow up your cover once you realised that the Winter Soldier had killed them all."

"Who are you?"

"The Black Widow, my dear."

Summer frowned. "Why are you using him then? Aren't both of you lovers?"

"That was a long time ago, it didn't last long and since then, he tried to kill me. Several times, as I recall."

"He was conditioned! He didn't know what he was doing! You can't hold it against him!"

Natasha helped her to sit up and smiled at her. "You've got it bad, Summer or whoever you are. We are trying to kill you and you're pleading for your assassin?"

She shrugged. "If _you_ kill me, he won't feel guilty."

Natasha stood up. "Nobody's going to kill you, unless you've lied to us."

"I probably did. I can't trust my own mind. I may even be all you said I was."

Natasha left, pursing her lips.

-o-o-

Bucky fell in step with her.

"You scared me for a moment there. I thought I had awakened the true Winter Soldier."

He took a deep breath. "Now we know I'm cured. You picked up exactly where he left. Or maybe it has to be said by the same person in one go."

She turned to him and recited, "Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон... Солдат?"

"Я _не_ готов ответить*. And wipe those words from your memory. Where did you find them?"

"I took a little stroll in Siberia. There are some things that should not be left lying around."

He tensed. "I burnt it, along with all the rest," she added. "But I admit the words are still in my memory. Apparently, they are also somewhere in HYDRA's." She sounded regretful.

"We'll find them. Anyway, as long as I don't fall in their clutches again, it seems that I'm fine. So, what's your conclusion?"

"She sounds clean. The Summer Flower would have tried something. Letting you kill her would not have been part of her plans."

"Except if she was the target as Stark pretends. She knows they'll kill her if she comes back, so it's become a suicide mission."

"You know as well as I the time needed to create the perfect assassin. They try not to waste them. Sending one to kill you is something, though I believe they would rather bring you back to their side. Sending her for both of you to die is too far-fetched."

She nudged him. "I think she's safe enough, even though she's not stable. But neither are you. You are made for each other!"

"I'm not boyfriend material, Romanoff. Your Banner is. And before you tell me he's a monster or not reliable or something like that, remember that he probably didn't smash as many people as I killed."

" _He_ says he's a monster and besides, I am one also."

"Welcome into my world. I'm worse than both of you reunited. Remind him of that. It will do him good."

He left her, going back to his room to drop the goggles and mask, as well as the additional weapons he had picked up. He took advantage of it to pick up a long-sleeve shirt, which would hide his left arm nicely. With the gloves on, nobody would know he had a bionic arm. The shirt bulked with the Kevlar armour under it, but Bucky knew there were people wanting his head and he was not going to facilitate their job.

* _Not_ ready to comply


	3. Usurped Identities

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

Steve was quite easy to find, in the control room. What was strange was that neither Tony nor Natasha were here.

"I called Shuri about your memory lapses. She told me it was normal, a defence mechanism of the brain. Since you don't want to forget what you did as the Winter Soldier, it tries to shun everything that could make you remember."

Tony entered the room, but Bucky ignored him. His eyes were on Steve, who looked relieved by Shuri's reassurance.

"I owe it to those I killed. I didn't have the choice but I did it. The least I can do is to remember each and every one of them."

"That's because you say things like this that I forgave you," said Tony, sitting down next to them. "It doesn't mean I like you, but still."

"I know you think that you didn't revenge your parents since you didn't kill me, but remember that death ends quickly. Guilt tortures you till the end of time. You are avenged every minute I live."

Steve peered at Tony.

"You know there had been alterations to make his room soundproof, don't you?"

"So he can kill without alerting everybody?"

"So he doesn't wake _everyone_ sleeping on the same floor every night with his nightmares."

"That loud, huh?"

"I don't know," replied Bucky, annoyed. "Maybe I screamed louder when they wiped out my mind, but they put a teeth shield in my mouth and it muffled the sounds, so it probably doesn't count."

"I'm not pitying you," Tony stated.

"Good. Neither am I. Pitying you, I mean."

Steve laughed. Then Natasha came in and sat next to them.

"We may have a problem. The one Barnes calls Summer is not the Summer Flower, but I doubt her choice of name is that innocent; she doesn't even sound sure of her name. Maybe she was just instructed to give this answer to Barnes if he actually asked for her name. It looks like a plan similar to those of the KGB, even though it's probably HYDRA behind it. So I think the real Summer Flower is here, maybe using the girl as bait with her open admiration for Barnes. See if he relents and lowers his guard."

She looked at him, in almost full Winter Soldier garb. She had seen him only moment ago and she knew he still had the knives in his pockets. Somehow she doubted he would lower his guard. Even in Romania, with no weapon, he had not been taken off guard.

-o-o-

Tony snickered, having had the very same thoughts.

"Good luck to her. So, you're telling me we have another assassin in the compound? Infiltrated for a long time?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Probably counted on you saving the girl before making a move. Would insure a perfect cover. HYDRA's brainwashed victims are notoriously unreliable."

"A new one since we have the girl? Nobody comes to mind."

"The doctor you recruited to help her get better, since we can't send them all to Shuri," Steve said suddenly.

"Good point, Capsicle. At least, your brain was not entirely frozen."

"I'm not dead yet, Tony."

"The girl is innocent, then? Maybe was not even brainwashed?"

"Oh, she was brainwashed, all right. She's confused about many things and the more you interrogate her, the less sure she is of her answers. Though I'm pretty sure she was not indoctrinated with the program you found. Or maybe she was brainwashed to the contrary of what we believe. Not to kill the Winter Soldier, but to love Bucky Barnes."

Bucky tipped an imaginary hat to her. "And here I thought someone could love me as I am. Nope, would require brainwashing," he said sarcastically.

"Not everybody can be me," Tony said.

"She can't be that innocent. She killed several HYDRA people and it didn't seem to bother her. It doesn't fit with the fact she stated she had only been trained here. Besides, there's that thing about the 'With the compliments of Tony Stark' comment."

"Yes, it surprises me a little, to be honest, because I indeed asked that from some people. But she wasn't one of them."

"Something else bothered me, but probably I just don't know her enough... Miss Potts doesn't strike me like the person to give information about her possible target to a brainwashed killer, no matter how sweet she may look. I mean, remind me how many times we have actually seen Pepper Potts here?"

"She is meddlesome like that," said Tony, "and could have done it. But she has nothing against you, so she wouldn't deliberately send someone after you. Besides, you're right, she doesn't come here often and certainly not where we've been keeping your girlfriend. So what? The Summer Flower made her believe she was Pepper? FRIDAY, analysis of all the times Miss Potts came to the compound in the last four months and where she went."

"Analysis in progress."

The results were edifying, as it appeared that Pepper was at the compound when she was not even in New York, but it was always at the same time _Tony_ was absent.

"So I can't meet her by mistake and nobody else here knows her schedule. The replacement knows hers a little too well, though."

So they set a watch over LeAnn Daniels, who seemed a perfectly harmless psychologist and doctor to heal mental manipulations, while Bucky continued his daily routines. The interrogation of the pilot and the radio operator had given nothing, since they had both bitten their cyanide capsule as soon as they had been caught. Bucky even participated to some missions, though his pilots were closely monitored. Summer didn't manage to escape from the compound a second time. But Pepper made a new appearance and, unbeknownst to her, she was followed closely by several pairs of eyes.

-o-o-

She slipped in Summer's room, having no difficulty whatsoever with the electronic lock.

"Hello, Summer, how are you?"

"Pepper! I'm glad to see you!" Summer replied, embracing the redhead.

"So, how is it going with Sergeant Barnes?" 'Pepper' asked with a mischievous smile.

"Nothing's going on," Summer said, dejected. "I mean, I managed to replace the pilot, like you told me, so I did get to spend some time with Bucky."

"And?" 'Pepper' pressed.

"He's the sweetest guy ever," she said dreamily.

"Don't you dare laugh," Bucky growled at Steve in the watching room.

"I don't know. I remember you laughing at me when I kissed Sharon."

"Punk."

"Jerk."

"And?" the false Pepper asked again.

"And we were attacked! Can you believe my bad luck? Because of that, Mr. Stark is keeping me under closer watch. No way at all to get out; I haven't been able to go watch Bucky ever since. I will never see him again!"

They noticed that no matter what 'Pepper' said, Summer never mentioned the attack by the Winter Soldier, nor her discussion with Natasha. Bucky also noted with relief that she didn't say that she had kissed him. But the conversation didn't tell them much. The fraud was trying to know what Summer did – or eventually what she had seen the others do – but she didn't push her to do something else, like she apparently did before.

The following day, Tony was told of the visit and he was glad that his staged absence had indeed started what they had hoped for.

"FRIDAY? What are the results?"

"Nobody tried to access Miss Potts's planning," she announced.

Steve frowned.

"What?"

"Ever since we said we were going to keep an eye on Pepper's appearances here, I bugged her phone and computer to be sure to know who accessed her schedule and Ant-Man is keeping an eye on her in case she says it to someone. How's that, nobody? Not ever herself?"

"From the analysis, the schedule was updated on its own. No interference from outside."

"We have a hacker better than me!" Then he winked at Bucky. "I'll ask for her help. You'll see, she's really good. Once she's stable, I may even offer her a job."

"The cameras in her room, we can access them twenty four hours a day?"

"Yes, but I'm not turning them on during the night. I'm not a voyeur, Barnes."

"Never wanted to imply that, Stark. Just turn on the mikes during the night."

"Why?"

"Because if she's brainwashed, rather innocent and was forced to do horrible things, she's bound to have nightmares. If she does, then turn on the cameras, and warn me. It will give me an excuse to wake up."

"Okay, let's start it all! Oh, hello, Wanda, Vision!"

"War council?"

"No, just a tiny spy thing or killers after our Manchurian Candidate. Nothing to worry much."

Wanda glanced at Bucky. They had been teammates and she liked him. She sat down. "Explain."

So Tony did and Wanda volunteered to fetch Summer for the hacker thing. Bucky disappeared, but somehow, Tony was sure he was still around.

-o-o-

There were traces of tears on Summer's cheeks and her puffy eyes were also duly noted.

"What happened, kid?" Tony asked.

"No-nothing. I'm a bit lost, that's all."

Tony kept staring at her. She looked down and mumbled, "I miss Bu– Sergeant Barnes."

"You've met him only once. How can you miss him?"

"Twice. The second time, he was conditioned as the Winter Soldier."

"And you still miss him?"

She shrugged. "My doctor didn't say I was sane." She tried to smile. "But I'm not here to whine about my problems. Do you have a new exercise for me?"

"Indeed." He explained the thing to her, careful not to tell her it was about Pepper's planning. She grinned.

"It's easy! Did you forget? You gave me almost the same exercise two months ago, except that I had to hide all accesses. I just have to undo the bit of code here... and there... and here you go!"

"Your memory is getting better and better," he commented briefly before sending the results to FRIDAY.

She shrugged. "You'll have to find more complicated than that to see if I'm really good."

"I'll think about it. Thank you. By the way, do you remember your name by now?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "It's..." She faltered. "Summer. I think." Then she looked around, almost as if she expected Bucky to come out of nowhere. The fact that he was really around did not ease Tony's worry. "May I... wander around a bit?"

"Still trying to see him?"

"Well, you don't seem really decided to name me his official pilot, so..."

"You know he is a pilot also, don't you?"

"Yes, but it's better when there's still a pilot in the helicopter after he jumped off from it. No waste of materials and the ride back is assured."

Tony laughed. "True. I'll think about it, if it guarantees that you stop trying to get out of your room."

-o-o-

As soon as she left, Bucky and Steve appeared.

"See how it feels to have your identity usurped?" Bucky asked. "You're fortunate it's not on TV yet and that it wasn't for accusing you of bombing a building."

"So we have a false Pepper and a false me haunting this compound! How is it possible? FRIDAY, analysis of all my interactions with Summer."

"By the way, Tony... Why don't you _ask_ Pepper about the planning and who she shared it with? If you tell her someone is trying to frame Bucky while impersonating her, she will certainly help you," Steve suggested.

"You know what? If you don't find the answer by ourselves, I just might do that."

"Oh, look, you were here yesterday!" commented Natasha, who had just arrived, followed by Sam. "I'm a bit hurt you didn't come see us."

"If I had known I was here, I would have come, believe me." He sighed. "And here we go for loong hours of listening to probably uninteresting conversations with a love-struck brainwashed girl."

"I have an objection," said Bucky. "Why waste such a complicated operation on me? If they have an assassin as skilled as that Summer Flower and people capable of masquerading as Miss Potts and you so well, why use a mostly innocent girl to bait me – if it is supposed to work? They are inside New Avengers Facility with us none the wiser and they're just trying to get back at a renegade? Makes no sense. It's not as if I knew any of their secrets or things like that! They even have someone spying on you, Stark, so shouldn't we plan for a bigger threat?"

"They infiltrated us like they infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D? But S.H.I.E.L.D dealt with secrets and could unbalance governments if they wanted. Stark Industries and the Avengers don't, do they?" Steve said.

"I have a few technologic secrets," admitted Tony, "and well, the Sokovian Accords tried to make sure that the Avengers couldn't unbalance governments. Except that we don't really follow them. Are you telling me, Barnes, that I should start to suspect everyone?"

"The Avengers are probably clean and also the people who are with us for a long time," Steve supplied.

"Okay, okay. Are we overreacting? If we start a purge of both Stark Industries and New Avengers Facility, it will be a massacre, which could lead to another civil war. We're only getting back together, because there was a threat and we had to regroup. I'm not sure we would survive another scission."

"No need to dramatise yet. Let's analyse what we have, but eliminating the spies on Pepper and you, the people impersonating you and whoever is possibly manipulating Summer will alert the others if there are others. It's only at that moment that we will need to wonder about a purge on a greater scale."

"Can you tell your FRIDAY to give me access to the videos of the false Pepper and you?" Bucky asked. "I'll watch them for you. It will give me something to do during the nights."

"You're my saviour. But will you know what is suspect and not?"

Steve and Bucky looked at each other and, to the surprise of the others, burst out laughing.

"Don't go looking at his room," Steve advised. "He dismantled the air conditioning because it was making a suspect noise."

"Sorry. A bit paranoid."

Sam looked at Natasha. "Something shared by a few of us."

She had a sweet smile for him.


	4. Taking Matters in Hand

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

The following days were harsh. Tony was almost jumpy, Bucky was always absent but Steve retained his calm and positive attitude through it all. He went to see Bucky from time to time, so he had some news.

"Better not startle him right now," he said to Tony, Natasha, Sam, Wanda and Vision. "I don't know when he slept last and last time I arrived fifteen minutes earlier than planned, I was lucky I was going on a mission and I already had the shield in hand. If you really must go see him, knock at the door and don't enter if he doesn't tell you to. The false couple made Summer train to shoot, with lots of your catchphrases, Tony, nothing that would look out of context to someone knowing you. They also gave her the name of the pilot and radio operator for the chopper jaunt. They are responsible for the thing on Pepper's planning. In short, just looking at these videos, they are guilty of everything and LeAnn Daniels is a poor innocent doctor trying to her best while people mess with the mind of her patient in her back."

"But?"

"But Bucky and FRIDAY go along very well and it happens that FRIDAY recorded all the sessions of the good doctor."

Tony looked at him expectedly. "Spill it out!"

"Bucky freaked out," Steve admitted. "Literally."

"He cowered in a corner hiding from shadows?"

"You remember the prison pod they put him in after Vienna? The one he broke out from, just by hearing Zemo read the words? The same thing happened to his room unfortunately." Tony groaned. But Steve was not done. "I happened to enter just moments after, a scheduled visit, and I found myself on the ground with a knife at the throat. Please remember that, when Bucky freaks out, he becomes the Winter Soldier all over again and not the passive version of it. The sessions with the doctor begin by fighting, which means that LeAnn Daniels beat Summer black and blue while she tries to defend herself. It seems Dr Daniels is a very skilled fighter."

"I never saw her with any bruises or broken limb or anything!"

"Bucky told me that LeAnn Daniels targets some specific points, which inflict a maximum of pain but show a minimum or not at all. Something he learnt in Siberia."

Natasha nodded, a bit pale. It obviously triggered some memories in her.

-o-o-

"Then as Summer is on the ground unable to move, the doctor hits some other of those spots, which are apparently difficult to reach when the person is standing; add to that burns under the feet, to make her say what happened between two sessions. If nothing had happened, too bad for her, she'll just be burnt more, since the doctor believes she's trying to hide facts. Finally, she injects her a tiny dose of the super soldier serum belonging to HYDRA, just enough for her to heal but not enough to gain the other effects. In case you don't know, the result of the injection is very painful. While Summer is trashing and screaming in pain, she's pinning her on the ground, asking her where the Winter Soldier is. Surprisingly, Summer holds her own, repeating over and over that the Winter Soldier is dead and there's only Bucky left. Once Summer stops hurting, Dr Daniels spends half an hour making believe she treats her."

"So no string of words triggering her into an assassin?"

"No. Only a girl tortured every two days and questioned the other ones by impostors. Except that I forgot, just before injecting her the serum, she whispers some words in her ear, for quite a long time. FRIDAY is trying to reconstitute the actual words."

"How did we miss all that? I mean, her room is not soundproof! Somebody should have heard her screams!"

"Well, her doctor comes with lots of gadgets, some apparently keeping the sounds to a bubble. FRIDAY tried using mikes outside the room and there was indeed no sound at all. She also seems to have a portable version of the memory suppressing machine, less painful than the original one, since she uses on it Summer before her half an hour of make believe."

"So that's why she hadn't say anything to us and still manages to be cheerful! Anything else?"

"They tell her that Bucky will only love a strong woman and some idiocies like what his love as the Winter Soldier will be the pure thing since it won't be corrupted by any other feeling. This thing about the Winter Soldier and Bucky is something she discusses with her doctor during the official session, so she remembers it. It seems one of their goals is to unleash the Winter Soldier in here."

"Okay. So _we_ hired her torturer and saw nothing?"

"So it seems. But Bucky was muttering something about things not being what they looked like and tampering and breaches in security."

"Where can I find him, since visiting him is not an option? He does go out, doesn't he? I mean, he must sometimes?"

"Go to the training centre at midnight. He goes there to evacuate a bit. But be careful. He's not fully Bucky and he's in better shape than he was in Bucharest and Berlin. Or in Siberia."

"Are you telling me we have a killing machine about to be unleashed?"

"Aren't we all? Except... We are what we are mostly by choice. Bucky didn't get one."

-o-o-

Tony was in the training centre well before midnight and he saw Bucky come in, still in Winter Soldier gear. He unstrapped his utilitarian jacket and began his training. Tony held back his breath. It was brutal. He didn't spare himself, pushing himself to the limits – if he had some – and anything done less than perfectly was redone until correct and then, ten more times. He activated six old Iron Legion robots at the same time and fought bare-handed against them. Tony had never seen anyone get rid of them so quickly. Bucky returned to the control panel, his back to him.

"I know you're here. Are you analysing my fighting skills to know how to put me down quickly?"

Until now, Tony would have sworn there wasn't an emotion left in Bucky, but that was before hearing his voice just now. He realised then that the times before, there had been guilt, sorrow, despair or _something_ in his voice. It had been the voice of someone broken. The person in front of him was just cold and his voice was dead.

"Nope. Wanted to talk to you actually, but Cap said you were pretty jumpy in your room."

Bucky turned around to face him. "I don't like to be surprised," he admitted. "It helps you were here before I arrived and didn't move for a while."

"It could have been a trap."

Bucky tilted his head on the side. "Nah. You'd have been forced to watch those videos by yourself."

"I apologise for letting you do the dirty work. I had not realised it would awaken bad memories in you."

He shrugged. "Bad memories are pretty much all I have, though I have some good ones from the times Steve and I were younger. They are outnumbered, though."

"Did you know that he once said that he always had you even when he had nothing else?"

"Typical from him. I told him I was not worth it."

"Worth what?"

"Putting his reputation in jeopardy, losing his friends, _fighting_ them. I was not worth it. But he did it anyway. Because I had nothing left, so he had to be there for me. I don't know if I'll even be able to repay him someday."

Tony was strangely silent for a moment. "I don't think he's waiting for it."

"Oh, he's not. But still. I'm glad you and he are friends again."

"You could have killed me, that day in Siberia."

"Probably. But I wasn't trying to. Do you know it's harder to keep someone alive than to kill him, especially when they are trying to kill you? Ever since Steve had given me back my memories and I realised he had told the truth, I tried my best to be myself. Not a killer. When they came to arrest me, it would have been easier to kill them all. They wouldn't have stood up again. But I didn't, though it's what comes the most easily to me. If I don't think, I kill. Fortunately, I spent so long unable to think by myself that now, I tend to overthink. You were... are his friend. It would have been hard for him if I had killed you and you had done nothing to deserve it. I understood your grief, but I couldn't let you kill me either. He would not have forgiven you."

"Because you count more for him than I do."

"We've known each other forever and always have been there for each other. When I was in the Howling Commandos, I often stayed back, to be the sniper and keep him alive. He knew I was there and almost never looked back – or up. Hell, he gave up his body, his friend, his love and his life for this country. Now, it happens that I'm not dead and he feels guilty for not coming back for me after I fell from the train. I'm the only person left from his past now that Peggy is dead and even with Peggy, it was not the same. So of course, I count for him and of course, he would do anything for me to forgive him for having left me – even if there's nothing to forgive. Can't you just let him have one selfish thought in his life?"

Tony looked at him with a kind of stupor then said out if the blue, "I'm sorry for that day in Siberia."

"Yeah, me too. But we were set up."

"Zemo was a master mind and we were so full of ourselves we didn't stop to really talk to each other, making us easy preys. I'll try not to make the same mistake again."

"Thanks."

"Including now. It could be something to try to make us suspect each other. I mean, they impersonated me!"

-o-o-

"Am I intruding?"

Bucky turned around.

"Ah, Wanda, girl, come here, sweet."

She came to him with a smile and he pulled her close to kiss her forehead. She didn't seem bothered by his flat voice, though it was slowly going back to the one Tony was used to. Behind Wanda, Vision was watching them closely.

"Still trying to protect me, Wanda?" he asked, sounding amused – as much as Bucky could sound amused.

She laid her head on his shoulder. "You're the one of the few here I've never fought against. Guess it counts."

"Hell, girl, I hope it never comes to that. If it does though, don't hold back on me. Just unleash all you have, because you probably will never get a second chance." He hugged her shoulders. "No matter what, I'm never letting them put you in a cell ever again," he whispered.

"Are you coming back to the meetings?"

He chuckled. "If you want to."

"Yes. And you should go speak with Summer. Seems her love for you is not induced by something from the outside, but rather the real thing, since it allows her to resist the brainwashing. Or didn't you notice that from the summary you gave Cap?"

"It was a long time since I thought I was every girl's dream, you know. But I said I would check on her nightmares, if she had some." He looked at Tony. "Does she?"

As Wanda was steering him toward the exit, he bent down to retrieve his utilitarian jacket and put it back on.

"Oh, every night without fault. Should happen anytime now," Tony answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were busy."

"Well, I'm not right now and I'm awake. Let's take advantage of it. Believe me, it would not be a good idea for me to go see her when raw from my own nightmares."

"FRIDAY? Any nightmare coming up?"

"As a matter of fact, considering the last nights, it should arrive soon... Like now."

A scream rented the air, transmitted by FRIDAY, and Tony winced. It had blasted very near his ears. Bucky had already started toward the stairs.

"You know that we have very efficient elevators nowadays!" Tony called after him.

"I can still beat you up there!" he retorted without slowing down.

-o-o-

Tony was quite disgruntled to see it was the case, but then he stopped dead. Bucky was already in Summer's room, kneeling by her bedside and crooning softly to her. Gone was the cold, dead voice. Instead there was a low rumble with a soft lilt in it.

"How come he doesn't have all the girls trailing after him with that voice?" Tony groaned.

Wanda giggled. "Because he doesn't care."

"I distinctly remember him commenting on his lack of love life."

"Truly? What did he say?"

"Something about only brainwashed people able to love him as he is."

"To whom did he say that?"

"Natasha."

She looked at him with a strange little smile and he groaned again. "Okay, beat me for being an idiot. He _would_ say that to his brainwashed lover from way back then."

"He's trying for normalcy right now and he wants to be a hundred percent sure he's not going to kill anybody. He wouldn't try for a relationship until then. Besides, he's fiercely protective, did you know that? Do you remember when you called Cap for help and we all showed up?"

Oh yes, Tony remembered, especially when standing next to Steve there had been the infamous Winter Soldier.

" _What is he doing here?" he hissed._

" _Where I go, he goes. It has always been like that. The only time he went somewhere without me, I had to rescue him from an enemy base where he was experimented on," he replied dryly. Then his tone softened, "You called for help. Everyone wanted to come. We parted like enemies, but we are not, Tony."_

" _He is cured," T'Challa said. "He is no more the man who killed your parents."_

 _Tony wanted to say he didn't care, but settled for glaring at the Winter Soldier, who remained emotionless before remarking off-handedly, "Steve needs someone to watch over him when he's in the thick of the fight. We are used to fight together."_

" _Yeah, I remember that. Two against one!"_

" _We were trying to keep you alive, which you weren't trying to do toward me. You even thought Steve would kill you." Then he leaned forward and very quietly, he said, "Believe me, if Steve had wanted you dead, I would not have let you live, Iron Man or not."_

"Yes, fiercely protective of Cap."

Wanda chuckled. "Do you remember where I was?"

"I do," Vision said. "Behind him, with your hand in his."

She flushed slightly. "I was nervous," she admitted. "So he pulled me behind him and said nothing was going to happen to me. He didn't know how he would be received and he didn't want me caught in the fire. Said you wouldn't have Soviet-made bullets like he used before, so if you shot him, I'd be okay. I told him I knew how to defend myself, but he told me that I should not be fighting my friends for him."

Vision lay his hand on her shoulder. "He was right about you not having to fight your friends."

" _That_ 's the man behind the killing machine."

Tony nodded curtly and looked at was happening in Summer's room.

-o-o-

Bucky had managed to wake her up and she opened her eyes only to see him inches of her face. Instead of freaking out, she just exclaimed in relief, "Bucky! I mean, Sergeant Barnes."

"It's okay," he murmured. "I can be Bucky for you."

Wanda looked at Tony with a slight smirk. He ignored her.

"Care to tell me what happened? I'm pretty used to nightmares too."

"I'm not supposed to speak about them, except to my doctor."

Bucky's jaw tightened, but he kept his tone light. "Yeah, well, I'm not too trusting with doctors. The last one I saw framed me for a bombing and made me kill people."

"But... the one who tried to cure you?"

"Was a princess. Much better, if you want my opinion. So, this nightmare?"

But she didn't answer. She sat up in her bed and extended her hand toward him. He caught it in his and squeezed it gently.

"I'm truly here," he assured. "What troubles you?"

She turned her head away and took a deep breath. "Is it true you would only love someone skilled enough to be able to fight you?"

"I think I'm strong enough to fight for the one I would love without her needing to do it. I'm old-fashioned. I respect a woman who knows to defend herself, but I'd still have a tendency to protect her even though."

She looked at her hand still engulfed in his.

"Want me to release your hand?" he asked softly.

"No! No, I'd like to..."

He seemed to understand what she wanted and rose on his knees to pull her against him, cradling her like a child.

"Aw, girl, I understand the need of comfort after a nightmare..."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder.

"Better?"

She nodded.

"They... I have to fight someone, I can't see who, and if I lose the fight, I lose you," she began, speaking rapidly. "I always lose and when I'm broken and bleeding on the floor, they mock me and you turn away from me with disgust. Then they attack you and you become the Winter Soldier, you kill them all and you tell me that if I had been stronger, better, I would have won and I would have saved their life because you would have remained yourself. Then you leave and I'm alone among the bodies, knowing I'm gonna die. I finally see who they are and... they are all my loved ones. I'm the cause of their death."

"It's always the same nightmare?" His voice was still soft and he was gently rocking her against this chest.

"Always. Sometimes it stops when you looks disgusted."

"I would never make you fight for me. Never. But I would fight for you. And you couldn't disgust me."

He stood up effortlessly, still holding her in his arms. She squeaked in surprise, her arms tightening around his neck.

"What... what are you doing?"

"I'm proving it to you."

-o-o-

He went to her door and opened it.

"FRIDAY, is there an apartment somewhere with two bedrooms, where you need to go through the first one to access the second one?"

"A security apartment? Yes, we have."

"Could you get it ready for me? I promise not to dismantle anything, if you remove the bugs first. I'm paranoid enough without you adding mikes or cameras."

"I'm on it, Mr. Barnes."

"Thank you."

"What are you doing, Barnes?" Tony hissed.

"I'm through with it. I'm not going to let her live one day more of torture and psychological manipulation. If they want her, they'll have to pass through me first."

"How are we going to explain her disappearance?"

He shrugged. "Tell them I killed her. I'm sure you can arrange for blood or whatever at the training centre, among the robots, and explain that she escaped, I was in full rage as the Winter Soldier and I destroyed her with the Iron Legion."

"We haven't caught the culprits yet!"

"That doctor is not coming near her again! Summer is not an Avenger!"

"Sorry, sorry! You're right. I'll set Natasha on her."

"Warn me when you find her. I have one or two words to tell her."

During the whole conversation first with FRIDAY, then with Tony, Summer had remained motionless and silent in Bucky's arms. Wanda touched lightly her arm and red light played around her fingers.

"There," she said. "I've reduced her fears."

"Thanks, Wanda, you're the best."

He started in the corridors, following FRIDAY's instructions coming from the earpiece he had begun wearing since he had been watching the videos.


	5. Another Flower

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

He was not yet halfway that Summer squirmed in his arms.

"You don't have to do that. I'm... I'm able to stand on my own."

He was tempted to keep her against him, but he could understand she was afraid of him, even if she pretended loving him. Fantasies and reality were two different worlds after all. In his fantasies, he had survived like Steve, but without becoming the Winter Soldier and still with his own arm. He knew it was not likely to become real. So he let her stand on her feet but remained close to her.

"I remember you said you didn't like pity," he said, his voice neutral.

"I don't."

"It's not pity."

"I mean, you don't have to pat me on the head because I had a nightmare. I'm used to deal with it."

He had a lopsided smile, took her hand in his and pulled her behind him. "FRIDAY, is the apartment soundproof?"

"The whole apartment is soundproof for the outside, Mr. Barnes. Then, the first bedroom is also isolated from the security room."

"You know me so well."

"It is not ready yet. I still have to organise the moving of your things."

"Don't bother for mine, I'll take care of them. It will not take long. But we'll make a little detour to give you some more time. Can you arrange for cameras to record us arriving to the training centre but she never leaving it?"

"Of course."

"You're tremendous."

"I'm an AI."

"Doesn't matter. You're still tremendous. Come, Summer."

"Why make your room soundproof from mine? I mean, I suppose the second bedroom is mine?"

"I don't want to wake you up with _my_ nightmares. Patting me on my head would not even start to make me feel better and anyway, you would be in danger if you came near me at that time. You know Stark saw a video of me killing his parents? He hates me for it, which is perfectly understandable. He saw this video only once. I see it every night in my nightmares, along all the others I've killed."

"Boy, why didn't you tell me?" said Tony's voice, coming from the earpiece.

"FRIDAY!"

"The channel was open, Mr. Barnes, I thought you knew."

Bucky grunted. "I told you that you avenged them with each day you let me live," he said to Tony. "Now, close that channel!"

-o-o-

He entered the training centre, with the ground still littered with the remains of the Iron Legion he had fought earlier. Summer looked at them with misgiving. She probably remembered what he had said to Tony about staging her death.

He dropped her hand and removed his jacket.

"Okay, you want to know if you can fight me? That's your chance. Come, girl."

She blanched and stepped back. "Are you crazy?" she whispered. "I have no chance against you!"

"Not your call. I'd like to know where I stand with you. When you are afraid, generally of me, which is smart, you're kind of... how did you say? Oh, yeah, all over me. As soon as you're thinking on your own feet, you can't wait to get away from me. Dual behaviour. _That_ is not smart. I know your mind's been tinkered with, but you're rather sweet and your hot and cold attitude might not bother anyone. Except that when you are playing mind games with a _freaking unstable and paranoid killing machine_ , that is not smart at all!" he yelled, punching the wall for good measure. With his left fist.

Summer stared at the hole in the wall.

"Do you begin to understand what you are playing with?" he asked, his voice dark and threatening. "This could have been your head."

"No! You don't do that anymore!" Her voice was trembling.

He turned his back to her. "No need to bring out the scared little girl. Did she really exist except for messing with my mind?"

When he heard her move, he had a grim smile and looked straight at the camera. Then he turned around and caught her mid-jump.

"Hello, Svetlana," he said in Russian. "Missed me?"

She snarled and flipped her legs up to twist them around his neck. He grabbed her with his left hand and tore her off him.

"How did you guess something was up?"

"You used the exact same footage for all your 'sessions' and repeated some parts to sometimes make them seem longer."

She grunted. "You don't look bright enough to pinpoint that."

"It's the empty gaze from the brainwashing," he replied easily. "Makes people think I'm stupid." He threw her into yet another wall.

-o-o-

"Mr. Barnes is fighting Summer in the training centre," FRIDAY announced to the people in the meeting room. Tony had taken upon himself to wake up Steve and Natasha.

"Yes, yes," he said impatiently, keeping his eyes on his screen, while Natasha and Wanda looked at the screen FRIDAY had turned on.

"He's saying that the torture sessions were fake," continued the AI.

"What?"

"Tony, he's _really_ fighting," Natasha commented.

He opened and closed his mouth, looked at the fight, narrowed his eyes and said, "Okay. What did I miss?"

"More than Bucky. I'm not sure I understand everything. Summer is really the Summer Flower, Nat?" Steve intervened.

"Seems so." She looked quite taken aback.

"While watching the videos, Bucky apparently understood this, because they tampered with them and he spotted it. But for an unknown reason, he didn't judge useful to tell us his theories, instead feeding us the lies shown by the videos. The doctor may be totally blameless. Are we still trying to find her?"

"She's nowhere to be found, that's the problem."

"I don't know what the false Pepper and Tony are doing in this story. She's been playing the sweet girl, down to the nightmares, for him to lower his guard. I never thought I'd be grateful for HYDRA for making him so paranoid," he added under his breath.

"Why are we not going to his help?" Wanda exclaimed as she watched Bucky fall down before twisting up again.

"Because we need to get to the bottom of this thing," yelled Tony. "Nothing makes sense at all! And," he glanced toward Steve, "we need to believe that Barnes will manage by himself." He paused, listening to something in the earpiece he had just put on. "And I will remember not to mess with a _freaking unstable and paranoid killing machine._ Message received. Yup. Completely. Right there as my first priority. Stop messing with Barnes's mind."

-o-o-

Steve was watching the screen. The woman was good, there was no denying that. In a fight with Natasha, he would not have taken bets as for the outcome. But Bucky had been working out every day since he had been deemed cured by Shuri and with his enhanced strength, there wasn't a chance for her to win against him. Steve had watched the footage of Bucky's outburst in Berlin, when he was mind-controlled by Zemo. He had not been at his top, since he had obviously received no orders and hadn't know what to do. His moves had been hesitant. In Siberia, he had done his best to hinder Tony but he wasn't trying to kill him. Now, with Summer, he had no restraint and he was in perfect shape. There was no wrong move, no hesitation, everything smooth. He was toying with her, actually making conversation. FRIDAY was currently delivering it to them. The problem was that it was in Russian. Natasha came next to him and translated on the fly.

"I didn't understand it all about the Winter Soldier thing. It's a bit unclear to me whether you want me to be him or not."

"Both would work," she replied, breathing heavily. "Either you remained _Bucky_ and I would get rid of you, or you reverted to the Winter Soldier and I brought you back with me."

"But you prefer to the first solution, huh? That's why you were playing the frightened little girl always calling for Bucky." He blocked her punch and swept her legs from under her.

"No, the Winter Soldier was first on my mission."

"Ah, I knew it, you were just bidding your time being sweet and infatuated with me. I almost fell for the act, you know."

"I'm the best," she boasted.

"Natasha would have pulled it better."

Steve had witnessed it up close: the Winter Soldier was always calm and deliberate during his missions... until it didn't go as planned and then he would get mad. For the moment, he was still calm, which was not the case of his adversary. The comment about Natasha had stung.

"The Black Widow is a legend who has lived too long. She's not as good as she was," she shouted as Bucky flipped over her to avoid a hit.

"Being an Avenger keeps her on top." He grunted as she managed to get a hold around his neck. He fell on the ground on his back, winding her, before jumping back to his feet and doing a full forward flip. Her hold on him slipped and she fell down, heavily. She didn't get the time to get up as he pinned her on the ground.

"Now, I've have enough."

He produced metal wire from his pocket – Steve winced at that: where had he found it? – and proceeded to bind her wrists and ankles with it. Then he squeezed her jaws open and checked that she didn't have a cyanide capsule as a false teeth.

"Not as valuable as they like you to think. You didn't get the cyanide either. Means you don't know enough secrets." He was smirking.

He dragged her back to where he had left his jacket, got his mask from one of his pockets – Steve was left wondering how he had guessed everything would unfold that night or, worse, if he had it with him all the time – and put it on the Summer Flower's face. Then he hoisted her on his shoulder and started deliberately toward the meeting room, after a nod in the direction of the camera.

He opened the door, dropped his burden on the ground with no qualms and looked at Tony.

"If you hadn't told me she was the target, I would have found her out sooner. Tried to play matchmaker, didn't you? Well, speak to Steve. Romanoff already tried it with him and it didn't work well. Did you think I would go along well with a psychopath since I was one myself? I mean, I know you hate me, but I'm perfectly able _not_ to find a girl on my own."

He turned around and just before closing the door, he added, "I expect to get my mask back or rather, a new one. She'd be able to poison it just with her breath."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, tough guy!" Natasha called back.

"You're welcome, Romanoff."

-o-o-

Tony wasn't done. "FRIDAY, I want this guy followed wherever he goes, on the secured channel! Cap, get this spy into a safe cell or whatever until we know what to do with her."

"Immediately, boss."

"Of course, Tony."

Bucky was simply going back to his room. FRIDAY announced her incapacity to track him inside his room, as he disabled all bugs, but it didn't matter: Bucky came out only moments after, with a nice button-up blue shirt on his armour. The long sleeves conveniently hid the bionic arm and the usual black gloves were back on his hands. He went to Summer's room, tipped over the bed and knelt on the floor. He removed his right glove, his fingers brushing against the floor until they found the hidden catch he was looking for and he gently extracted something... no, _someone_ from the cache.

"Shhh, it's over," he murmured, holding the person tightly in his arms.

His right arm still around them, he removed the bindings on their hands and feet, as well as the gag. There was a strangled sound, then a sob and a harsh breath.

"Shhh," he said again, his voice soft. "Breathe in, breathe out. Good. Again."

He remained like that on the floor, holding the unknown person against him, telling them to breathe, until they calmed down enough to be able to speak.

"Who... who are you?"

"Bucky Barnes, ma'am."

He was interrupted by a crazy laugh. "The infamous Winter Soldier! Right!"

"Are you Doctor LeAnn Daniels, ma'am?" he asked, not bothering to correct her.

"Yes, yes."

He stood up, carrying her easily. He had not turned on the lights in the room, but as soon as he stepped in the corridor, it was obvious that this was the person who had been submitted to the tortures he had seen on the footages.

"Stark, could you call your Doctor Cho?" Bucky said, trusting FRIDAY to have reopened the channel. "FRIDAY, dim the lights, please, they are hurting her eyes."

"I called her as soon as I saw the damage, Barnes," came the answer in his earpiece.

"Good. I'm coming back to the meeting room. Is everybody here?"

"Wilson is still sleeping, but I'm not sure he needs to be involved in that. Cap has gone to discharge the... parcel somewhere else. Ah, sorry, he's back now. Yes, we're all here."

Tony turned around to face Bucky as he entered the room. LeAnn Daniels cried out when he stepped in the brightly lit room and hid her face against Bucky's shoulder, her fingers clutching his shirt. He looked around; Steve pulled up a chair and Bucky sat on it, carefully arranging the doctor on his lap.

"Hungry or thirsty?" he asked gently.

"I... I could use a glass of water, please," she mumbled against his shirt.

"The lights are toned down, you can look up."

She slowly rose her head, but her fingers didn't release their hold. Natasha brought a glass that Bucky held out while waiting for LeAnn Daniels to take it. Cautiously, as if it was a trap, she extended a hand toward it. Wanda hissed when seeing that her fingers were swollen, with dry blood smeared all over them.

"Broken fingers," Natasha said clinically. "And probably lots of other things broken."

Dr Daniels's hand was trembling so much that she almost spilled water. Fortunately, Natasha had not filled the glass to the rim and Bucky set it right before an accident happened. Then, gently, he helped her hold the glass the time for her to drink. They had left her face intact, probably in case they needed to show her to someone.

-o-o-

"Care to explain, Barnes?" Tony asked. "How did you know about that cache?"

"You forgot there were five other Winter Soldiers. They were active before the serum. That was part of what they learnt. I learnt it too and I'm sure Romanoff did also."

" _You_ were given the super soldier serum, weren't you?"

"The HYDRA version of it, yes," Bucky replied stiffly.

"Why didn't you turn mad like the other Winter Soldiers?"

"Not the same serum." Had Tony forgotten that one of the reasons of the attack on his parents was to recover his father's version of the serum? That was the one that had been administered to the other Winter Soldiers.

"How comes it didn't increase your personality? I mean, Capsicle here became this goody-goody, annoying legend and you... nothing."

"To increase your personality, Stark, you need to have one. When they gave me the serum, I already was an empty shell. A puppet cannot have a change of character, be it good or bad, since it's totally emotionless."

"And if we gave you the serum now?"

"You'd be happy with the results, since it would probably destroy me. First, I don't think anybody has been dosed twice with the complete version, and then... Steve is already feeling guilty with the deaths of all the people he couldn't save; but he didn't actively try to kill them. Imagine what it would do to me, since I actually killed those dead because of me. It would not make me remorseless, Stark. It would just increase my guilt tenfold and I assure you it is already hard enough to bear."

"Didn't they experiment with you before Cap rescued you first?"

"They did. But they didn't have the right formula then. It was just enough for me to survive the fall, but not to turn into a super soldier."

LeAnn Daniels was looking at him with intensity, her left hand still clutching his shirt.

"You... you really are the Winter Soldier, then?" she asked.

"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, Doc," he replied formally. "You may call me Bucky. Or not call me at all," he added, sounding resigned.

Her eyes still on him, she began to laugh hysterically. "That's it, I'm mad!"

"You may want to sit elsewhere," Steve proposed, bringing a comfortable-looking chair.

Bucky's right arm, until now wrapped securely around her, dropped to his side. Steve held out his hand. She screamed and burrowed more forcefully against Bucky. She even groped about for his hand. Gingerly, he put it back on her waist. She pulled on it until his arm was firmly around her.

"You're her saviour right now, Bucky," Wanda said. "Am I safe in assuming that she was the one they brainwashed about you and your alter-ego?"

He grunted, giving the glass he was still holding to Steve and cautiously wrapping his other arm around the doctor.

"If there's something not tempered with in this recording, yes," he said. "I didn't get the time to check everything." He looked up at Tony. "The nightmare thing modified my schedule. I wanted to make sure about the impostors, to see if they were real or just added to the footage. Though someone definitively hacked Miss Potts's planning, gave the name of the pilot and radio operator... The rest may be just for the story."

-o-o-

"Well, her feelings about you are ambivalent, to say the least." Wanda tilted her head on the side. "You are scary but interesting. They forced it upon her that you would kill her if you discovered her, but considering your... current behaviour, she's doubting their words. Unfortunately, they are too deeply ingrained for her to simply shake them."

"I won't kill you," he said to the top of the doctor's head. "I don't do that anymore."

She nodded but didn't look at him.

"I could alleviate some of her fears, if you wish," Wanda offered.

"Wanda, my girl, it's a bad idea to mess with a brainwashed mind, especially one so raw. I know you want to help, but it's far too soon."

LeAnn Daniels looked up at that.

"Wanda? As in Wanda Maximoff?"

"Caution," Bucky growled. "You may say anything you want about me, but not a single disparaging word about our Wanda."

Vision seconded that heartily. Wanda blushed.

"Bucky!" she protested. "It won't change what they think of me if you forbid them to say anything!"

"I don't forbid them to say anything. They can come to me, vent their grief and I'll explain to them why they're wrong about you. But they're not gonna say anything bad about you to your face. Or they can go to Vision, who'll be nicer than me about the whole thing. You're a kid, Wanda girl, and there's lots of things you shouldn't have seen. You don't deserve to have people fearing you on top of that." His eyes searched the doctor's. "So yes, I'm the infamous Winter Soldier and I associate with Wanda Maximoff. Fear me."

Considering she was nestled deep in his arms, it would have been idiotic for her to do exactly what he was saying. She knew it, even lost and unbalanced as she was.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Just wanted to be sure I had heard correctly."

"Where's your doctor, Stark?"

"What? Oh, I forgot about it! She's waiting for us in the lab, of course. Maybe Doctor Daniels would want to walk there?"

"If that bit on the footage was true, there's no way she's going to be able to walk. Her feet must be as swollen as her fingers. If she doesn't mind, I'll carry her."

"I don't think she'll mind," Steve muttered.

Bucky glared at him and slipped his left arm under LeAnn's knees before standing up. With a whimper of pain, she clang to his neck.

"Sorry," Bucky murmured, his voice soft again. "I didn't want to hurt you more."

"It's... okay. I'm fine. I was surprised."

He didn't tell her that everybody could hear her lie.


	6. The Doctor

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

They all ended up in Helen Cho's laboratory. Putting LeAnn on the stretcher was a considerable feat as she categorically refused to let go of Bucky.

"I'm staying right here by your side," he said. "I promise."

He was feeling ridiculous, all bent down above her because she didn't want to relinquish her hold on his neck and he didn't want to hurt her more by pulling away. She searched his eyes and finally nodded shyly, letting her arms slide down. As soon as he straightened up, he could see the fear invading her eyes. He extended his right hand toward her and she grabbed it immediately, her swollen fingers tightening convulsively around it, despite the pain it caused her.

Helen Cho pursed her lips. "Mr. Barnes, I'll need her hand."

"Doctor, don't make me insult your intelligence. This woman is not an Avenger. She's probably been tortured for months and right now might even be afraid of her own shadow. Surely you won't be heartless enough to deprive her of the sole comfort she can find? I'm sure you can heal her other hand first and then I'll switch hands."

"Right. But you'll have to go away at one moment, because I'll need to examine her fully. There are probably more wounds under her clothes."

"We're not there yet."

It was only a question of minutes before LeAnn's feet and free hand were healed. Her face showed less strain. He changed side and sat himself as to look at her face only, while Doctor Cho examined her legs.

"Thank you," LeAnn whispered in relief.

"I need you to go, Mr. Barnes," Helen Cho announced after a while.

"Hey, how about we make us a circle around you and Doctor Cho, our back turned to you, so that nobody can come close?" he proposed.

She bit her lips and nodded, but he could tell she was forcing herself. She opened her hand to let go of his and despite himself, his fingers brushed against her cheek.

"You're very courageous," he said.

Then he stood up and turned his back to her. He made as if he hadn't heard her feeble protest. The Avengers came around her, guarding her, even if they all knew that the responsible for her sufferings was in a safe cell. They heard rustles of clothes, a growl of dismay and several whimpers of pain.

"Someone will need to bring me clothes for her," Doctor Cho said. "It's almost done, my dear. Mr. Barnes, I apologise. Considering the number and origin of the wounds, yes, I understand she needs comfort."

"No problem. Just tell me when it is safe for me to turn around. If I'm still needed."

Each time he made those offhand comments, Wanda wanted to tear someone apart, preferably those who had tortured and brainwashed him. She hated that he had a low opinion of himself. He had been nothing but sweet with her and if people could just _see_ him for who he was... Vision turned his head to look at her and she took a deep breath. Bucky and she shared the same problem with people.

"You're still needed," LeAnn said, her voice a bit rough. "Badly."

Wanda would have beamed at her.

-o-o-

Natasha brought back some clothes from Summer's room, as they were yet unable to say what belonged to whom. It was not the exact fit, but it would do for the moment. As soon as she was clothed, LeAnn made a grab for Bucky and almost toppled from the stretcher. He caught her in extremis. She wrapped her arms around him and the tension in her body left her.

"Careful," he said in a low growl. "You're weak from those wounds and probably hunger, you can't go gallivanting around seconds after being healed."

She had a low laugh. "Hunger. Yes, food sounds good," she said wistfully. "May I have something to eat, please?"

"Yes, and after, to bed. It's five in the morning."

So they left Helen Cho's laboratory after thanking her and filed up to the meeting room. Finally, they all ended up taking a 'midnight' snack. Bucky didn't each much; first of all, he wasn't that hungry and secondly, LeAnn was so close that he could barely move. Then she almost fell asleep on his shoulder. He scooped her up, nodded to the others and took the direction of the safety apartment that FRIDAY had prepared earlier.

She was barely awake when he tucked her in her bed.

"Just remember. If you come in my room and hear me scream, don't try to awake me. Go back to your room and close the door. I... I am very dangerous in those moments and I could hurt you."

She nodded. He wasn't sure she had understood a single word he had said.

"Promise!" he insisted a bit forcefully.

"I promise."

He closed her door, asked FRIDAY to lock it, removed his armour and quickly put on a t-shirt and sport trousers before going himself to bed, glad that FRIDAY had had someone bring some clothes for him. He spent five excruciating minutes practicing deep breathing, hoping to ensure a nightmare-free sleep. Then he turned to his side... and straightened up, knife appearing in his hand.

LeAnn launched herself at him, ignoring superbly the knife, and clutched at him.

"She'll come for me," she babbled, "and there's nowhere to hide. Don't let her get me, please..."

He hid the knife and tried to reason her. "She cannot come here, Doc. To reach your room, she needs to go through mine. It's a security apartment."

She shook her head. "She goes wherever she wants, you don't know her. Nothing stops her."

"I told you..."

"To go back to my room if you were screaming. You're not screaming, so you're not going to hurt me. I know you won't. She lied to me." Her eyes were very wide and her voice high. Her hand was on his bionic arm and it didn't seem to faze her. Or, more probably, she hadn't noticed.

"Doc..."

"LeAnn," she interrupted. "Please, I've got only you."

"All the Avengers would protect you."

"But you're the one who found me, who understood it all."

He wasn't sure he had understood it all.

"Please, Bucky..."

It was the saying of his name that proved to be his undoing. Her voice was soft and pleading, so he nodded. She sighed in relief, nestled against him and to his surprise, promptly fell asleep. He didn't. He hadn't gone so far by trusting sweet voices and pleading eyes, so he kept his knife near and stayed awake the whole night. He was very cranky in the end.

-o-o-

Of course, when she awoke, she freaked out. Waking up spooned against the Winter Solder, his metal arm around them would probably cause that, he decided cynically, even if she had cuddled against him on her own and had tugged on his arm to wrap it around her. He was grateful for her not to have screamed, though. With this sensitive hearing, it always hurt. Instead, she gasped, scuttled away and turned around to face him. Her breath hitched and her eyes opened wide.

"Nothing happened," he said.

She put her hand to her mouth – to stifle a scream? – and looked down at her fingers. He guessed that even though they had been healed, they still hurt.

"Last night... I mean, this morning, uh, whenever, it was not a dream, then?"

"What do you remember?" he asked cautiously, sitting down while keeping the knife near and accessible.

"There were the nightmares... She... she always screamed above my whimpers, because even with the gag and the hidden place, it seems that I could be heard. So she made as if she had the nightmares. Someone came for her. You?"

He nodded.

"They... you left with her. I couldn't understand what you were saying. I'm not sure I was fully awake. Then silence again, but the nightmare stopped or I woke up. The cache opened, someone, no, not someone, _you_ took me out of it and removed the binding and kept me safe and I could _breathe_... I... you took me to be healed, to eat and then here. And oh, I apologise! I must have begged you to let me stay here with you! I'm sorry, sorry..."

"Shhh. What are you sorry for? Being frightened after months of torture? Asking me for help when you knew I could protect you?"

She looked at him and smiled timidly. "You make it sound so rational. I'm sure I was far from rational when I came here this night."

"I can guarantee it. You would not have gone to me if you had been rational."

She flushed darkly. "Because of that?" She poked at his bionic arm.

"For example, yes." He went out of bed, slipping the knife in his pocket, and put on his armour, before hiding it with a long-sleeve shirt.

"Or the Winter Soldier thing?"

"That too."

"Did I say something... hurtful?"

"As a matter of fact, no. Which is quite a feat, considering the lies she has been feeding you about me. Though probably not everything was a lie."

"She didn't say you were caring," she offered.

"I don't think she knows about it. Go get dressed. The others must be waiting for you."

"Why? Am I in trouble?"

"To make sure you're still alive."

He went to the bathroom, grabbing his usual trousers to change. He congratulated himself on not having snapped at her despite his lack of sleep.

-o-o-

They were not in the meeting room. Sighing, Bucky led her to the cafeteria room, where the whole staff of the compound could come. Natasha, Sam, Steve, Tony, Wanda and Vision were there, most of them looking quite bleary-eyed. Steve took one look at him and winced in sympathy. Wanda volunteered to get them something to drink and eat. As Tony was speaking with LeAnn, Bucky whispered to Steve, "You've got to help me there. I need to sleep if you want me to be useful and harmless."

Vision turned toward them. "What?"

"Not enough sleep and I'm not able to think anymore. When I don't think, you all know what I turn into. I need my wits about if we're going to get to the bottom of the things. The Summer Flower will make short work of a half-wit. You need to convince the doctor that she'll be able to survive without me for a few hours. Eh, thanks, my girl," he said affectionately to Wanda as she brought him coffee and pancakes.

She patted his left hand and he gave her a full-blown smile, one of those he had so rarely lately. LeAnn looked up at that moment and was struck by it. Wanda pecked his cheek.

"Anytime." She went back for a second cup of coffee and some more pancakes, while he began wolfing down his. She had decided that Bucky needed his breakfast before LeAnn. Bucky looked up at Vision, who seemed bemused.

"You know one of the reasons Wanda likes me so much?"

"You're handsome?"

He chuckled. "Wrong. People fear me more than they fear her." His eyes were on Wanda and he stood up, swallowing the last bit of pancake and seizing his coffee cup. "Watch!"

Some people were edging away from her. Bucky's face closed and he strode purposefully toward them. They glanced his way, then Wanda's way, and scuttled closer to her. Wanda looked up, surprised when being jostled, and Vision felt a strange emotion in him when he saw the half smile on her face, because people were near her and not running away. From the other side of the room, Bucky looked at him and Vision nodded.

"Why did he do that?" LeAnn asked.

She had not missed anything, not even the way Bucky's eyes narrowed when some people avoided Wanda now that he was away.

"Because he cares more for his friends than for himself," Steve replied, making a sign at his friend.

Bucky didn't wait for another confirmation and almost sprinted to his old room to catch a few hours of sleep.

-o-o-

When he emerged, he first took a long shower, before putting on clean clothes. Black trousers, white t-shirt under the black armour, and then he didn't even cared for another shirt to conceal the whole thing. He just strapped his utilitarian jacket – black, of course – above it and added the sleeves and gloves afterwards. He checked his weapons were properly in place, though he was not supposed to have them. Even though his bionic arm was now hidden, the Winter Soldier was back.

They were all in the meeting room, including Sam, who had been told everything. Bucky observed them from outside. LeAnn looked on edge, flanked by Steve and Natasha, though there was a free seat next to her. Vision was busy staring at Wanda when he thought nobody was looking at him. Bucky sighed and entered. Immediately, LeAnn's faced lighted up, until she took in his gear.

"You're going to fight someone?" Tony asked.

"Who knows? Did you speak with the Summer Flower?"

"Oh, we did some little things while you were busy catching a few winks, but we're not to that point yet. First, FRIDAY dissected those videos almost picture by picture. The impostors are even worse than that. They are non-existent. Manipulation of real videos of us fed to our cameras. Our whole system is bugged. I had a very stern word with the IT department and they are cleaning all this. While they're at it, they are verifying everything else."

Bucky rubbed his face. "So the footage is reduced to what? One session repeated over and over, with some modifications added along to make it look like it was different every day?"

"It was different every day," LeAnn said with difficulty. "What do you have on video?"

"FRIDAY, the footage, please," Tony said.

LeAnn remained calm for thirty seconds before gasping as quietly as she could. Both Bucky and Steve looked at her. She was white, her hands clutching the edges of her seat.

"It's over, Doc," Steve said uneasily.

Bucky didn't even bother to speak. He reached over and offered his hand. Despite the glove, she grabbed it thankfully.

-o-o-

Steve pursed his lips.

"What's wrong?" Bucky whispered.

"Sorry if I don't trust her. Two girls in a short time who are head over heels with you, need you to feel okay, except that one is a spy. Sorry if I'm not welcoming the other one with open arms; you're too trusting on that, Buck."

Bucky stared at his friend before laughing quietly. "Except that I knew where I was standing with Summer. She's a good actress, no denying that, but I was _strangling_ her when Romanoff was pulling her act. Even if she could control her voice and face, there were some body reactions she couldn't hide from me. I was trained for that, not just as an assassin."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because you can't lie for the life of you, Steve. _Everyone_ knows when you do. The only one who could have pulled it off is Romanoff. But habits die hard. Trust no one."

"When did you suspect anything?"

Everyone had turned around to listen to them, the footage running unnoticed, except maybe by LeAnn.

"Almost from the beginning. Come now, pal. An unknown girl, who happens to be a pilot and a fair hand in shooting, who pretends to know nothing about me – is there someone left on this planet who doesn't know about me? – and we're attacked three times? Do you take me for someone stupid or what? Then she's supposed to be tortured daily and she welcomes us with a cheerful smile. Yeah, right. I mean, sure, after a memory suppressing session, you feel cheerful like a singing bird. Look at me, I'm the living testimony of it."

Wanda snickered. Bucky spared a smile for her.

"So from the beginning, you left us floundering about, trying to protect you, while you were playing with fire?"

"How did you know? She almost let you kill her!"

"While I was the Winter Soldier? Nah, Romanoff. She knew you would not kill her. Years making you soft, that kind of things. You would tell me to back down as soon as she would make it like she surrendered. Besides, when you send the Winter Soldier for a kill, you don't send him with a nanny to supervise him."

They kept giving him sceptical looks.

"I tried to give you hints, about how nothing was adding up!" Bucky protested. "Besides, I'm paranoid. I could have been wrong and I would have caused prejudice to someone who didn't deserve it. Turns out my guts were right and I was late in rescuing you," he added, looking at LeAnn. "I'm sorry."

She opened and closed her mouth several times without making a sound and finally managed to say, "You came." Then she lowered her eyes to his hand resting on her thigh, holding her hand loosely so she could pull away anytime – as long as she released _her_ hold on his.

-o-o-

"Once I was played on my fear of someone awaking five Winter Soldiers and the result was not pretty. I didn't want to do it again for one Winter Soldier, even if it was me." He took a deep breath. "We all know that if I revert back or am outed or anything like this, Steve will side with me no matter what. Because that's who he is and he thinks he owes it to me."

"You'd do it for me."

"It's different. It's me. It would lead to a scission between us like last time because I don't think I endeared myself to all of you in the short time I've been here."

"I'd follow you, Bucky," Wanda said. "For you, this time, not for loyalty to Cap."

"Yes, Wanda girl, that's exactly what I've been saying. You'd follow me and Vision, being first of all loyal to Stark and then a sensible analytic being, would know that this is the wrong choice and would side with Stark. You would again be pitted against each other and I don't want that, girl. You hated it last time, why would you like it better this time?"

"I'd side with you, Barnes, so the problem won't arise," Tony said.

"Stark, I know I can't ask you... What did you say?"

It was oddly endearing the way he looked at Tony, gaping in surprise.

"I mean, I saw a blurry picture of you when they accused you of bombing that building and I thought that you were a murderer. You saw very clear pictures of Pepper and I pushing toward you someone brainwashed to kill you, you heard me tell you lies on how she was the target of the chopper's attack and yet you took the time to check everything. You thought I was framed. I didn't even give you the benefit of the doubt."

"You're supposed to be sane. You would not bomb a building."

"Pushing an assassin toward you was not a sane thing to do. As for the other thing... Well, we all know you had no choice but doing it. I'll get over it. Eventually. Anyway. We gave a chance to Wanda and we were right. You're entitled to get one, the old man was right about it."

"And I was wrong about you," Wanda said.

"You had extenuating circumstances." Tony shrugged it away, then turned toward LeAnn. "I'm sorry, we've been ignoring you."

She had a timid smile. "You have things to discuss, things that are coming up because of me. To answer your previous question, the recorded session is the first one. The others were... er, very different. It was not so much physical tortures, but mental harassment."

-o-o-

"Can you tell us about it?"

"I am a psychologist, I know I need to speak about those things. At the beginning, she was talking to me. You had told me she had been tortured by HYDRA and probably brainwashed. She was not my first patient for torture, though maybe she was for the brainwashing. There aren't many of them running around, though I read all I could find on the subject." She carefully didn't look at Bucky. "So she told me little things, probably all lies now that I think of it. Once she took my place, I went through all she told me, to see if I missed something, signs like she was unstable or I had upset her, anything to explain why she would do that to me, but I realised that almost everything she had told me was about the Winter Soldier." It seemed to her that suddenly Bucky's hand was feeling heavier on her leg, but she knew it was just an impression. She was simply more aware of it. "He... he's a legend among the HYDRA spies, if I understood well, and from what I gathered during the few sessions we actually had, she... hum, she has a crush on him. She also considers Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier as two distinct entities, one weak and the other strong, similar to the situation of Bruce Banner and the Hulk. She thinks she can defeat Bucky Barnes, but not the Winter Soldier."

"Did she tell you why she tortured you? Once she had taken your place, there was no reason for it!"

"Part of it, I think, was because she could and it amused her." She stopped and thought back about what she had just said. "No. I'm being unfair. The first session, the one you saw on video, I think it was just for that purpose. Making you think I was torturing her. But she didn't enjoy it. Then she tried to know the secrets of my father, so she broke my fingers and burnt my feet again to make me talk. But my father and I are almost estranged, so I couldn't tell her anything. She understood it and stopped, with relief if I'm honest about it."

"You're hiding another reason," Wanda said, watching her with a curious look.

LeAnn shook her head. "She only tortured me physically those two times."

"But you spoke of mental harassment."

"She told me countless horrifying stories of the Winter Soldier, recounting to me all the murders he had committed."

"Why? You were not supposed to know I was here. Nobody's supposed to know. What would be the point of telling you horror stories about an absent monster?"

Wanda made an exasperated sound and Bucky looked up at her. "That's what I am, Wanda. Still, that's not that a big deal. People tell each other horror stories all the time."

LeAnn's breath hitched. The feel of Bucky's hand around hers was burning her, she had to stop clutching at it, but she didn't want to give the impression of rejecting him, not when he had gotten her out of that nightmare. He seemed to understand it was about him and gently removed his hand, going so far as standing up and walking to the other side of the room. He pretended to occupy himself with getting a cup of coffee. He could feel her eyes on him, but kept his back turned to her, knowing it would be easier for her to speak.

"I... I read a lot about the case of Mr. Barnes. When we talked, at the beginning, I... bragged a bit about being an expert on his case."

"Is there such a title?" Bucky inquired, still not looking at her. "Doctor in psychology, expert in brainwashed killing machine cases?"

"As it was a subject that interested her, even if we were not of the same opinion, we could talk about it for long times. She interpreted it as if I had a crush on him," she said very quickly. "She saw me as... competition? So she decided to prove me that everything I thought I knew about him was false, that he would come after me if he knew about me. She enjoyed describing to me how he would kill me."

"You were the one truly protesting that the Winter Soldier was dead, with only Bucky Barnes left," Natasha said, Wanda having gone to Bucky whose back had stiffened at LeAnn's last sentence.

Obligingly, FRIDAY ran the end of the footage, where the 'doctor' was pinning her victim on the ground, asking her where the Winter Soldier was. Half crushed, LeAnn was protesting that he was dead and Bucky Barnes had taken his place. Each time LeAnn was saying 'Bucky', Summer increased the pressure of her arm on the neck of her victim. The two last protestations sounded more like calls for help and Bucky's lips thinned sadly.


	7. Confrontation

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

"We bring Summer here?" Tony asked.

LeAnn gasped. Bucky turned to Steve.

"You were right. Two girls head over heels for me, it's weird. Let's have fun then, Stark!"

Steve smiled and volunteered to go fetch the Summer Flower. Bucky retreated in a corner of the room, the less visible, though it was still lit perfectly. LeAnn's eyes followed him but she straightened, alone with the two seats next to her now empty. She was safe, they would not let anything happen to her now that they knew about it. She repeated to herself everything she had already told herself while Bucky was sleeping. Besides, he was here now and no matter how incongruous it sounded, she knew he would protect her and he was way better than the spy. She knew it, because the spy had ranted about it so many times.

She took a deep breath when Steve entered the room with the spy. He had not bothered to remove the wire bindings around Summer's wrists and the skin was red, with a little blood, though the mask was no more covering her mouth. Her eyes scanned the room quickly. Bucky retreated further. She saw LeAnn and smirked. To her credit, LeAnn didn't move and met her eyes without shrinking. Summer looked at Natasha.

"Natalia," she said, her voice a little rough. "Black Widow. You look quite out of shape."

"Try me, Svetlana," Natasha offered calmly. "You didn't dare confront me last time. You were in a hurry?"

"None of you is worthy of me."

"That's why you have the bindings and we are free," Tony said.

She turned disdainful on him. "I don't see he who captured me among you and you wouldn't welcome him anyway."

"That's where you're wrong, Svetlana," Bucky said from his corner.

Tony was surprised by his voice. It was again the dead voice he had heard in the training centre. Steve saddened immediately.

"Ruslan! I didn't see you!" Summer's smile was infectious.

"Ruslan?" Steve repeated.

"They couldn't afford for me to remember my past, Steve, so they gave me another name." He moved forward, graceful as a cat. Summer's eyes shone when seeing him in his Winter Soldier's garb.

"You came back to your senses, I see, Ruslan." Then, without losing time, she said, "Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон."

"Oh, excellent," Natasha applauded. "What a good memory! Where did you hear those words?"

"They are fairly well-known in our ranks. Each of us deemed worthy is taught them so we can recover our greatest legend. Солдат?"

Tony didn't understand Russian, but those deliberate words could have only one meaning and the word 'soldier' in Russian sounded similar to the English term for him to see the whole picture.

"So this was your plan all along? All those lies, acts, infiltration of my video system, it was only to awaken the Winter Soldier?" he asked. "You're so out of your game, wilted flower! Didn't you hear he had been cured?"

"Once HYDRA's, forever HYDRA's. Солдат?" she repeated.

Bucky had still not moved. Tony clasped his shoulder. "Some have the will to save themselves."

"Ruslan, you are ours! You belong to us!" she added, still in Russian.

He came near her and in the same language, told her, "I belong to myself. What you never understood is that I'm still the Winter Soldier. I never _stopped_ being the Winter Soldier. The violence is all mine. But now, the will is also mine."

-o-o-

"Traitor!"

"Traitor?" He reverted to English. "Was I ever more than a killing machine? They tortured me when they felt like it, they hit me because I was so well conditioned that I would not hit them back and they put me aside like a discarded toy when they were done with me. Did they ever care for me except as a well-honed tool? Did they care for what I thought? Oh, yeah, you're right: each time I did, they wiped my memory away."

"They saved you from death, gave you a whole new life!"

"They made it a living hell. You like what you are. You are even paid for it, and handsomely. I hate what they made me. Do you know why I was so unstable? Because they had to erase my mind so very often. Each time I remembered a little thing, I would fight against what they were doing to me. I was only ever obedient when they had just brainwashed me. The rest of time was an endless fight. But it was to their benefit, since the hate I had against them, against the whole world went into my missions. I was, still am, the best because all I felt was hatred and because I didn't fear to die. Dying is easy. Living is hard. You're preoccupied with staying alive. I didn't care. Makes you a lot more efficient."

Later, Steve would wonder how Bucky could say all that with his cold voice. It was as if he was just stating facts, speaking of someone else. Then he delivered the last blow.

"You claim you're in love with the Winter Soldier? Then you're in love with your gun. It amounts to the same." He turned his back to her, incidentally looking toward LeAnn at the same time. "You're pathetic."

Summer snarled.

"Stark, you can give her to any authority you like. She's no danger. She's not even as important as she thinks she is. Remember the pilot and radio operator? They had cyanide capsules. She doesn't. She doesn't matter. Then prepare for the worse."

"What? Why?"

"Stark, think. She tried to awaken the Winter Soldier. The point was not to awaken him anywhere. It had to happen _here_ , in New Avengers Facility, preferably when we are all together. If she had succeeded, I would have gone on a killing rampage, I may even have gone through a few of you before you could react and then the Avengers would be down to a weakened and split force. What better time for attacking?"

"You're lost on them, Ruslan! They do not respect your intelligence."

"HYDRA's only use of my mind was for erasing it," he called back.

-o-o-

"Cap, get rid of the spy, back where you found her, please. We'll ship her to the government at the first moment we'll have. Let's not keep her under our feet."

"Ruslan! I saved your life!" She was almost down to begging now. Probably the punishment for failure was death.

"Remember me when?"

"The helicopter? The man calling the words?"

"Come now, Svetlana. The chopper? You had a tracker on you so they could aim at it and shoot us down. You were trying to ingratiate yourself to me by playing the nice girl afterward?"

"That was a mistake! I landed us safely!"

"Don't bother to continue lying to me. I remember everything even if I said the contrary. _I_ landed that chopper. You just made as if you panicked. Didn't want to carry on your assignment? Were you just trying to get me killed instead of awakening me? Bad little sheep. Maybe we should just ship her back to whoever sent her. They would punish her suitably."

"What was the point of that little jaunt in chopper, then?"

"Probably testing my fighting skills as the 'weak' Bucky."

"Er… am I coming at a wrong moment?"

"Banner!" Tony exclaimed. "Now we know there's indeed a crisis coming up. Just missing Thor, are we?"

Bucky didn't miss the way Bruce Banner and Natasha looked at each other, though Natasha tried to downplay it. Steve left with Svetlana before Bruce began explaining why he was back, then Tony yelled they were going to the control room and people moved toward the exit. Wanda took LeAnn's elbow and steered her outside. Then Bucky looked at Vision, who had also seen the interaction – or lack thereof – between Bruce and Natasha and who was now staring at Wanda's back. Bucky fell in step with him.

"Romanoff is a handful and Banner is… touchy. Compared to them, Wanda is very low-maintenance. Trust her as an Avenger and care for her. Easy, no?"

"I'm not human."

The look Bucky gave him was pure exasperation.

"What does it have to do with the subject? You care for her; most humans fear her. Besides, you can be a human and still be a monster. You're none of that, your luck. Go ask her. I'm pretty sure you won't be rejected. Trust me, I knew about that stuff before."

Then he ignored Vision and listened to Bruce explaining to Tony that he had detected high activity in some place Bucky didn't hear.

-o-o-

Of course, once Steve came back from escorting Svetlana to her cell, Bruce had to start all over again.

"Vibranium. They're going to remove it from Wakanda. I don't know who and where exactly, but there is way too much activity over there for it to be normal. Last time I saw Thor, we discussed it. Vibranium may be a key in the fight against Thanos."

"Aren't we done with Thanos?" Sam asked.

"He's just licking his wounds. He'll be back, probably with all the Infinity Stones, and worse than last time."

"Why didn't T'Challa contact us about it?"

"I was _trying_ ," T'Challa said from the screen.

Tony stared at him.

"Sorry, boss," FRIDAY informed him. "The IT department had noticed that all communications from outside were cut down while they checked the system. They kept it that way until they cleared it all. They just finished."

"Your Highness."

"Mr. Stark. Captain Rogers. White Wolf."

"T'Challa," Bucky replied with a nod.

" _White Wolf_?" Tony repeated.

"Remember what you said about not messing with his mind," Natasha reminded him.

"There is much unrest in my country right now," T'Challa continued. "Too much and in too many places at the same time. The Black Panther will not be able to defeat them all and my army would be spread thin. I call for help. Lots of help."

Tony turned toward Bucky. "Okay, genius, you got me there. Is that what you were speaking about?"

"Maybe. It would add up with the timing." He paced deliberately around the control room. "Svetlana should have awaken me something like half an hour ago, so I would have started my killing for a while. You would all be occupied with dealing with me, leaving Wakanda alone. That would give time to the bad guys to steal all the Vibranium, right, T'Challa? That's what they are planning on taking?"

"That and probably stealing some of our technologies."

"The thing is, we are certainly under watch. They're going to wait for a proof that Svetlana succeeded. And your arrival, Dr Banner, unfortunately sent the wrong message." He pursed his lips. "Or it could help us. Like what you need help to get rid of me."

"If we're watched like you think, we cannot go to T'Challa's help. They'll know about it and start their move even before we get there."

"Unless we provide them with a diversion, like they've been meaning to do."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Me."

-o-o-

"We stage a fight between me and someone you can spare, make it drag as long as we can, while you take off to Wakanda to help T'Challa. I'm sure you can add some smoke or explosions to make believe I've devastated the compound. Once you're there, you call us and we come too. If we are needed."

"Who do you want to team with?"

Bucky shrugged. "I only draw the line at three names. Not Rhodes, Wanda and your Spider-kid. And not the Hulk either, because I won't last long against him."

"What? What do you have against Spiderman?"

"I have against him that he's a kid, Stark! Rhodes, you know why. It's out of question I send him back to the hospital."

"Why not me, Bucky?"

"Wanda, girl, there are very high probabilities that authorities are going to show up before the end of the staged fight. As I'll end up in a cell, I won't be able to prevent them to do the same with you and you know they are just itching to put their hands on you. No way I'm going to ever give them the chance."

"Let's be realistic, there are only four of us who can fight you for long enough. Cap, Thor, His Highness and I."

"Thor is not here and you are all three needed in Wakanda."

"I'll stay," Steve offered. "Bucky and I can hit each other all day if needed and we won't even have to hold back."

"You know what would make it even more realistic? Having your little spy by your side."

"We don't have the same idea of fun, Stark."

"Come on, Barnes, if you go sweet on her, she'll be putty in your hands." The others seemed mostly to agree with him.

"We're talking enemy spy, Stark."

"You were not looking at her when you said she was pathetic. Her face was a study. That blow, with the 'in love with your gun' line, got her hard."

LeAnn stood up. "I'm sorry to say that I think it would work."

-o-o-

"Oh, now you're feeling better, Doc, huh? You need to be protected from her, but you have no qualms throwing me at her!"

Wanda put her hand on his arm before he could lash out more, then hugged him. He looked down at her, taking his time, before his eyes searched Natasha. Strangely, she wasn't supporting Tony's idea.

"Tell them, Natasha. Explain to them why it's a bad idea." His voice was broken. Natasha noticed how this time, he had used her first name. She sighed.

"If he gets this girl to play her role along him and if something happens to her, he'll feel guilty about it. He's protective and caring, you should know that. Despite knowing she would have killed him or transformed him back into a killing machine, he'll only know that this is a girl who loves him and whom he asked to sacrifice herself. Don't you think he's already feeling guilty enough like that?" She sighed again. "Way back then, when I met him the first time... He killed three men when he was ordered to kill me. Because he cared for me and wouldn't do it. He went against direct orders trying to protect me. So he'll fight for her."

"What happened?" Wanda asked quietly.

"They shot him from afar, tranquilliser darts. Then they waited for his moves to become so sluggish they could take him on, they beat him down, tied him up, waited for him to awake and beat _me_ down in front of him. Finally they wiped out his memory for the fun of it and put him back in cryo-freeze. Before you feel offended, Steve, he knew me only when he was the Winter Soldier. He didn't remember me from his old life."

Bucky was looking at them and he saw their answer on their face.

"It's of no use. Thanks anyway, Romanoff. I'll do my best, but if something happens to her, her death is on your head!"

"Bucky…" Natasha called him back. "I know we're just asking you to do something you despise, but how long do you intend to keep us at arm's length? Are you so sure we're going to turn against you?"

"It's only a matter of time," he retorted before leaving the room.

"What do you mean, 'arm's length'?" Wanda asked quietly, a bit hurt.

"Not you. But besides you and Cap, he calls everyone by their last name. He fears to be let down at any time."

"Didn't we just?" Steve replied.


	8. A New Ally

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

Bucky found himself outside Summer's cell and leaned on the wall next to the door. Neither could see the other.

"Came to gloat?" she asked in English.

"Not really. People are of two minds about you. There are those who want to give you a second chance and those who just want to give you into custody to any government – or organisation like the one who sent you."

"You don't know who sent me."

"HYDRA. We just don't know the contact name. Now, the question is: are you redeemable?"

"What do you think?"

"Oh, I was told my judgement was askew. So I try not to think about it."

"I would not have left any of those men kill you," she said suddenly.

"I didn't need your help, but it's nice to know, even if it's because you needed me to revert while in the compound."

"No! I swear nothing was to happen to you during the helicopter episode."

"Are you truly schizophrenic?" he asked curiously. "You really behave like you have dual personality."

"Maybe it's because the orders I was given go against what I want!"

He straightened and came in front of the door.

"Then maybe you should think about what you are going to follow. Your wants or your orders."

She looked at him with the eyes of Summer when they had been in that buried shed.

"I'm not two entities," he said. "There's no Bucky on one side and the Winter Soldier on the other side. There's the man and, when someone takes his humanity away, there's the killing machine. But the violence and the skills are still part of me. I just use them differently depending if I'm master of my own mind or no. But you... You have two entities in you. Summer the sweet girl who supposedly likes me and Svetlana the spy who wants nothing more than create chaos. Summer for your wants and Svetlana for your orders?"

He leaned forward against the reinforced glass. "Now, if we were to give you a second chance, which one would you be?"

"Why would you trust me?"

"Convince me. How about we play as if your plan worked? You call your employer, you tell them that the killing machine is back, we show a wonderful fight between Steve and me while you're cheering for me in the background, sabotaging the compound and setting fire everywhere."

She stood up with difficulty since her ankles were still tied up with the wire and came as near as the door as she could. She knew she couldn't touch it without getting a shock.

"Do you really mean this? You would set me free?"

"Would you contact your employer and lie to him for us? Would you help us thwart his projects?"

For a moment, she looked hopeful, then her shoulders sagged dejectedly. "You don't trust me."

"I may be paranoid," he admitted.

Despite herself, she laughed.

-o-o-

"I liked Summer," he added. "She was nice, courageous and her open admiration was flattering. Surprising, but flattering."

"I don't know. You said you unmasked me from the start, since you remembered what had happened in the helicopter. It means that you lied to me since the beginning. I would not swear that you liked me or were just pretending."

"You admit my act was better than yours?"

"Honestly? When you carried me toward the safety apartment, I still thought I was the master of the game, that you were caught up in my act and that you were accepting my– Summer's love. The 'I can be Bucky for you' was masterful."

"Simply because I would have said the exact same thing if you had been who you pretended to be."

She went back to sit on the tiny bench and rested her head against the wall behind.

"I didn't know your life was like you described," she said, careful not to look at him. "When they speak about you, it's about the missions you accomplished, how difficult they were and how easily you carried them, about the training you gave to others, about the fact that nobody could defeat you. How you shaped the century with your skills and strength. Your legend doesn't speak of the brainwashing. It hints a little at the cryogenic state, since your legend is alive for seventy years, but only to preserve you because nobody's as good as you are."

"I was defeated once, by another Winter Soldier, one so wild they couldn't control him and they put him in cryonics until he was killed. I shaped nothing. I was a mere puppet, because if I had had my will, I would have been by Captain America's side, fighting against HYDRA. They fed you a legend that doesn't exist. The only legend living up to it is Steve."

"I realise that now. When your identity was revealed, they made you as a weak sidekick for Captain America, following him because you knew nothing else if you were not pushed into being our legend. But there's more to it, isn't it?"

"I like to think there is."

"You know that's the case," Steve said behind him.

-o-o-

Bucky had a wry smile.

"Heard lots of interesting things?"

"You know I did. Did I do something to hurt you, Buck?" There was pain in Steve's voice.

"Stop blaming yourself for what happened to me. We both realised the exact nature of Zola's experiments on me when I fell of the train."

"Still..."

"No, Steve. There is no 'still'. You know, when we came back from that HYDRA's base, just before you created the Howling Commandos, and I called for everyone to cheer for you... I thought that you had found me only for me to lose you. I thought my dumb little guy had been replaced by his tall soldier with a cheesy smile and a head stuffed with how great he was, how he would save the world just by himself. Then you came to me and you asked me with your heart in your eyes if I was ready to follow you to hell's jaws. Not you, but Captain America. Because you thought you were not worthy. Because the stupid people only noticed you as Captain America and not as Steve Rogers. I didn't care for Captain America. I still don't. But I would follow Steve Rogers anywhere, because he's the one who has a heart and who's intent on doing things right." He turned around and jabbed at Steve's chest. "Without Steve Rogers, Captain America would just be a stupid guy delivering stupid lines to get people to give money for buying bullets. You did all that could be done. You're not responsible for me becoming the Winter Soldier. Not even Captain America is responsible."

Steve pulled him in a bear hug. "If you had not disappeared, Captain America would have continued to deliver his stupid lines. So you're responsible for the legend."

Bucky returned the hug and then elbowed him. "Punk. I'm also responsible for keeping you alive during the missions." He shook his head mournfully. "Everything's my fault."

He turned to Summer and smiled. "Sorry for the digression. So, with or against us?"

For a moment, Summer didn't answer. She was transfixed by his smile. Steve hid his own.

"How will you know if I lie or not?"

"We won't. That's the kind of fun Stark loves so much. But if you double cross us, you won't be given into custody. I'll just kill you myself and I promise you I won't lose a minute of sleep on it."

She shivered slightly. "Okay."

"With or against?" Steve clarified.

"With." She didn't even look at him. Her eyes were still on Bucky.

-o-o-

When Bucky, Steve and Summer arrived at the meeting room, Tony was on the phone with Secretary Thaddeus Ross.

"Hold, please!" he said when seeing Bucky. "I like to see the line blink," he explained to Bucky.

Now that LeAnn realised what backing up Tony's plan meant, faced with Summer free of her bonds, she stepped back. The two men who had made her feel safe until now were next to Summer. She was all on her own. Wanda looked at her and smiled.

"She will do nothing to you. That's not why she's here. I can stop her if needed."

"All right, Barnes, tell me how you knew it. Secretary Ross is telling me about strange flying things, asking me if I let any of my Iron Legion free to cause havoc. He wants some of us to go have a look. If we continue like this, there won't be an Avenger left to go to Wakanda."

Bucky pointed his finger at him. "Now, that's a smart move for us. We have an excuse to go out. Where are the sightings?"

"North."

"Not quite the right direction."

"No, indeed. We'll manage. _How_ did you know?"

T'Challa was still on the screen and Bucky's eyes turned to him. He nodded. Bucky sighed.

"In Wakanda, I am called White Wolf. Well, you understand where the 'White' part comes from. Wolf, because they are canny, loyal and fiercely protective of their own. They thought it suited me."

"Okay, great, but that's not what I've been…"

"They have that kind of secret intelligence service… They're called the War Dogs."

"Spies?"

"We are tasked with collecting information all around the globe to insure Wakanda safety."

"We?"

"They thought it fitting for a wolf to lead the dogs. I've been… teaching them all I knew ever since Shuri deemed me cured. In exchange, they've been keeping me informed of everything they found. All that… unrest." He looked around, seeing worried or uncomprehending faces. Only T'Challa and Steve looked proud. "I've not been used only for killing people on a quick stroll. I've also been used as a spymaster, on long missions, though not too long because I would become unstable if else. T'Challa trusted me and thought it would be a waste not to take advantage of all that time HYDRA had spent teaching me. Sort of rubbing it into their face."

"He is trustworthy," T'Challa put in. "He has a different view on things than we had and we maybe would have spotted all this later than we have. It would have been too late. We're still ahead for the moment."

"So how do you want to play it?"

"Oh no, I'm not the one giving orders. I thought Steve was the leader here."

"You had to do that?"

-o-o-

"Tell Secretary Ross we'll be sending people. FRIDAY, I trust the phone list is bugged?"

"There's no need," Summer intervened. "Ross is watched all the time. As soon as you say yes, we… they'll know it."

"Flying things, so we need to send people who can fly. Sam, Vision or you, Tony. Rhodes if you think he can pull it off."

Wanda didn't protest. She understood that Steve didn't want her anywhere where Secretary Ross would catch her.

"Okay, let's run it like this. Sam and Vision, you take a Quinjet, you leave to wherever Secretary Ross is telling you. When you receive our signal, you turn the stealth mode on and go straight to Wakanda. Tony, Nat, Wanda and Bruce, if you're willing, you go now, stealth mode on. Doc, you move to Doctor Cho's lab and summon Maria Hill over there. None of you is to leave that lab until we give the word."

"T'Challa, can you warn Nakia that I'll give her the word anytime now?" Bucky intervened.

"I don't know where she is."

"Don't try that with me, T'Challa. If she's not near you right now, then we have a problem and _she_ 's going to have a bigger one later on."

"I'm here, White Wolf. I'm waiting for your go."

"Thank you, Nakia. I knew I could count on you."

"What word?" Tony asked.

"The War Dogs are in position, Stark. Going to Wakanda is going to take time, no matter what we do. They've been moving into position for the last month. The bad guys will wait for you."

Tony stared at him. "You're full of surprises, Barnes. No, no, I'm calling you White Wolf from now on. I'll laugh about that one all day long, you realise? No, don't answer that. Anything else, Cap?"

"I need to be able to give orders to FRIDAY."

"I think you already can. FRIDAY?"

"Yes, boss."

"Captain here has things to ask you."

"Captain America can ask me anything."

"Good. Thanks, FRIDAY. Are you still here, Tony? You're awaited in Wakanda."

"Stark, you better keep an eye on my Wanda girl," Bucky added. "I mean, if any of you lets anything happen to her, I'll personally kill them with my bare hands. Understood?"

"Bucky…"

"Love you, Wanda, truly do. You're someone tremendous and an awesome fighter. But you're all my family with Steve. I'm keeping an eye on him, so he'll be safe. They better keep you safe for me. Okay, little sister?"

He half-feared she would tear up, but she smiled up at him. "Okay, big brother," she said softly. "Keep our brother safe and sound and see you later."

She turned around, following Natasha out. Bucky looked at Vision and narrowed his eyes. Vision hurriedly left for the Quinjet with Sam. Tony took the phone. "Secretary Ross? People on their way now."


	9. The Show

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

"Okay, FRIDAY, put us all on a secure channel, something that not even Stark's best hacker can go through." He glanced at Summer. "Can you open one for Summer so she can contact her employer?"

"Can you also bascule the secure channel to Nakia on the general one? I can't go around with three earpieces and I'm sure that Summer here will need one to communicate with me."

"Everyone on secure channel, Captain."

"Good."

"Nakia, I probably won't be able to speak to you properly, because they certainly have people lip-reading, so if you hear me say 'You're my mission', that's the key word."

"Okay, White Wolf. Waiting for it."

Bucky and Steve looked at each other. "Let's start the show. Are they out yet?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good. Let's start smoke and false explosions and whatever can make them believe that we've started it all. Ready, Buck?

"Summer?"

She was wedging the earpiece in her ear. "Report," she said. "The asset is awake." She gestured at them.

Bucky's face turned cold and he nodded to Steve. His friend sighed and threw in the first punch. Bucky blocked it easily with his left hand, making sure it made some noise. Summer nodded back. Then Steve and Bucky unleashed it.

In Tony's Quinjet, Wanda said, "Turn on the cameras. I want to see the fight. This is going to be better than any show."

"What?"

"You've never seen them fighting together _and_ you didn't really see Bucky fight lately."

In truth, Summer was thinking the same thing and she realised that he had not even broken a sweat when fighting her. Punches were flying, both of them putting all their strength in them. Steve didn't have his uniform, since they were supposed to have been taken by surprise, but he did have his shield, which Tony kept lying around for him to pick it up. Bucky was slightly advantaged by his armour but that was all. They moved out of the building, flipping and rolling over, sending the shield back and forth – and destroying walls in the process – while the others kept a steady flow of comments.

"You're my friend!" Steve yelled, grabbing him by his utilitarian jacket and lifting him above his head. At the moment he was going to throw him away, Bucky grabbed his wrist and heaved him in the air at the same time. The others appreciated loudly.

"Good one," Steve muttered. "Your name is James Buchanan Barnes!" he yelled again.

"Shut up!"

In the Quinjet, the others shivered. That was the dead voice of the Winter Soldier.

-o-o-

"You've known me forever! Bucky! You're my friend!"

"You're my mission!"

Nakia smiled savagely at T'Challa and sent the signal to all the War Dogs. Everywhere in Wakanda, they deployed discreetly, taking down some people and moving things away. It would not be enough, but it would delay the bad guys long enough for the Quinjets to arrive. Sam turned on the stealth mode of his Quinjet and changed direction. Bucky sent Steve on the ground and jumped on him, metal fist ahead. Steve rolled away before it could hit. Shuri had done things right, Bucky had a very nice new bionic arm, but it was now made of Vibranium and Steve was in no hurry of receiving it in the face.

"I don't want to fight you!"

"Shut up!"

"Soldier's doing fine. I'll get back inside and take down the security system," Summer spoke.

"Getting rid of Captain America is taking too long. Get him to Iron Man."

"Soldier, change of priority. Iron Man! Sanction," Summer obediently repeated.

Bucky took one step back. Steve lunged as if trying to keep him where he was. They played a while at 'Bucky trying to get away and Steve hindering him'. Summer ran back inside the compound, Steve ordered a few Iron Legion robots on her and Bucky could hear her fight through the earpiece. Then, as Steve sent him on the ground once again, Bucky snarled and produced a knife from one of his pockets. Steve sent him a disgusted look and warded the first attack with his shield. Then he accelerated things, pressing Bucky and sending in hit after hit, alternating punch with shield. Bucky's expression didn't change and he matched attack for attack, meeting the shield with his left fist.

Steve misjudged once and hit the ground, nose bleeding and slightly dazed. He shook his head, stood up slowly and said, "I can do this all day."

To anyone else, Bucky's return stare would have been expressionless. To Steve, there was worry in it. Bucky had been sure that he would avoid it.

"I won't let you go," he said grimly. "If you're this far gone, Buck, then I should be the one to bring you in."

He knew Bucky couldn't say anything without throwing the game off, but he saw his jaw muscle tighten. They closed up, Bucky's hand around his throat and he whispered, "You would have, you punk." He lifted him off his feet and threw him away before running toward the compound. In the earpiece, Summer cried out in rage.

"I can't get into the system! They're changing the access codes all the time!"

Steve sprinted after Bucky, who slowed slightly to let him regain the lost ground, and dived in his legs to tackle him. Bucky rolled over, grabbed him by the collar, took hold of his shield, kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying. Seconds after, he was back on his feet, running again.

-o-o-

He heard a sound behind him and stopped abruptly. Steve who was still pursuing him, couldn't stop in time and crashed into him, or rather into his own shield.

"Ouch!"

"Intruders."

Summer came running out of the building. "Intruders," she called in her microphone.

"Not ours. Get rid of them. How many Avengers down?"

"Romanoff and Banner. He didn't get the time to transform before the Soldier got to him."

"Good. Any lead on Iron Man?"

"He's not home. The only left is the witch."

"We're in position," Tony's voice said in the other earpiece.

"In here in a few," Sam replied.

"They're already starting. We can't wait anymore," Nakia said. "Black Panther is already on place."

"What's about intruders, Cap?" Tony inquired.

"We'll deal with it. Probably the government having seen Bucky."

"Okay, Avengers, go!"

Bucky growled and raised Steve's shield just in time as the bullets bounced on it.

"End of the game, let's get serious," Steve mouthed. "Summer?"

She turned off her microphone. "No more instructions," she whispered.

"Will he run away before we get rid of those?"

She shook her head. "Don't think so. He would lose his job if he did and he's far too influential for that." She took it in his raised eyebrow. "Congressman Wenham," she added.

"He's mine," Natasha exclaimed, having heard Summer's answer. "He... Hello, fella, missed me?" There were sounds of fighting. "He was very righteous when hearing me. Felt I should have been in prison."

"Should we gather data on him, White Wolf?" Nakia inquired.

"Yes and hand it to Romanoff afterwards."

"We'll keep him for you then, Nat. Buck, my old shield back if you please. Might as well use it. Yours is over there. It's the one T'Challa gave me. Fitting, for a Wakanda spymaster."

Bucky didn't even answer and went to get the black shield before pulling a gun from a secret pocket in his back. He held it out to Summer.

"Be careful who you shoot on."

-o-o-

Steve looked at the two helicopters coming down on them, threw his shield toward the soldier shooting at him. The soldier dropped his weapon and almost fell from the chopper. Bucky retrieved the assault rifle and fired. Distracted by his shots, they failed to see Steve's shield fly above their head and hit the propeller.

"I thought we weren't supposed to kill anybody," Bucky said, while keeping an eye on Summer who was firing at the second helicopter.

The pilot of the first chopper managed to get it down without crashing and the soldiers came at them. Steve and Bucky worked together, trading shields when necessary, bringing them down one by one with efficiency. The remaining helicopter crashed into the wall above Summer's head.

"Sorry," she said while not looking it. "How do you shoot down a chopper without killing anyone?"

Bucky darted forward, shield raised, while Steve sent his flying toward the last soldier who had just shot at Summer. The bullet hit Bucky's shield harmlessly.

"Thanks."

"We're rounded up everyone," Tony informed them. "We're giving them to T'Challa in custody. We also got the name of the leaders. They'll need to find new people to seat in Capitol Hill. Wenham and General Scudder. Apparently, from the files I'm being given, Wenham is HYDRA, but Scudder just wanted to share Wakanda's greatness a lot more than T'Challa had planned. Good team you've got there, White Wolf."

"Glad you approve," Bucky replied a bit sourly.

"Whom are you loyal to? The Avengers or Wakanda?"

"Both fight for the same thing, but T'Challa knows my loyalty will always be to Steve first."

"Then I am tranquil," T'Challa said. "He has his heart in the right place."

"Thanks, T'Challa. Tony, hurry up, will you? I fear Ross won't wait long before showing up and he doesn't like me much right now."

"He doesn't like many people, right, Banner?"

Summer ran inside and Steve and Bucky picked up the call in her earpiece.

"Report!"

"Intruders are down. The asset is a casualty. His friend said something and he's out of my control."

"Try to recover him."

"Last time someone tried that, he broke out of a prison pod _and_ his restraints. I don't have the element of surprise anymore. I may be compromised."

"Blend in and bid your time."

"Do you know me?" Steve asked.

Bucky refrained from rolling his eyes. "You're Steve."

"Who was the girl?"

"I don't know. She shot the chopper, I thought she was one of ours."

"Never seen her."

Having played their part, they entered the compound.

-o-o-

Summer turned off her microphone when they came next to her.

"We need to find who's keeping an eye on us," Steve said. "I hate that make-believe game."

Bucky gestured at him to stop speaking, his eyes taking around every corner of the hall.

"What?" Steve whispered.

"Don't you hear it? The silence?"

The facility was never silent, except in some very specific places and the one they were in was not one of them.

"The doctors!"

They started running. "Hill, do you copy?" Steve called.

Nobody answered. They accelerated. Summer followed for the first three corridors and first two flights of stairs, then she stopped, whizzing.

"You run too fast for me," she said, panting. "I'll follow you at my own pace."

"No way," Bucky said. "Um... This is going to be awkward."

He shifted the shield and the rifle on his right arm and grabbed Summer with his left arm before throwing her on his shoulder.

"Watch my back," he instructed before starting to run again.

"Are you going to hold on?" Steve asked.

"Yes. Nakia just loved doing that to me. Truth to be told, she did the same to T'Challa, so I probably shouldn't feel offended. So we were the two of us, loaded with all the gear for thirty people, all the others just carrying their water bottle, and we had to run ahead, except that Nakia kept changing directions in our back and we had to catch up or she would insult us. Panthers and wolves have to run faster than humans, right?"

"Sounds like fun."

"It was. We always had a good laugh."

"Then why are you complaining?" Nakia asked through the earpiece.

"I'm not. I'm describing the situation and explaining to Steve why he'll be tired long before me."

She laughed.

-o-o-

One flight of stairs later, they heard two shots and Summer's body jerked on Bucky's back. Steve turned around and sent his shield flying, though it was for nothing as Summer had already dispatched the shooter, something that Bucky could see by himself once he had crouched, shield at the ready.

"Summer, are you okay?"

"Yes. Ouch, that hurts," she grumbled.

"Girl, you're killing me. I told you to watch my back, not to get hurt in my place!"

"Not my fault if he was a lousy shot!"

Bucky chuckled. "Seriously, how are you?"

"Fine. I won't drop dead anytime soon. Might be problematic if you want me to fight for two hours straight though."

Bucky held out his rifle to Steve and handed the shield to Summer. "Don't care how uncomfortable it's going to be, you get that between you and the others."

"Don't come complain if I hit you on the head with it."

Bucky got his rifle back and followed Steve.

As they neared the laboratory, Bucky put Summer down and took a few instants to check her wound. She gave him a bright smile in return.

"See any hostile?" he whispered to Steve.

The sound of a gun was heard coming from the laboratory.

"Hopefully, that was Hill," Steve replied.

"Okay, you, give me that," Bucky said, taking his shield back from Summer's hands, "and remain here. Shoot any guy coming out of this. Steve, cover me?"

"You're not..."

"Hell yes, I am!"

He didn't even bother to open the door and just crashed through it, rolling away from it and crouching behind his shield as Steve jumped behind him. Then he shot the rifle twice, stood up and ran to the women, Maria Hill in front of them.

"Almost out of ammo," she said apologetically.

"And out of earpiece too. Take that." He gave her the rifle and went to join Steve into the fight. As they sent a man flying out of the room, Summer shot him while he was still in the air. As it appeared it was the last one, Dr Cho and LeAnn came out of their hiding corner and Maria Hill gave his rifle back to Bucky.

"Intruders coming," Summer warned, beginning to shoot. "Still from our side. Er, their side, I mean. Bad guys. Got a new magazine?"

Bucky thrust his rifle back in Maria's arms and ran to Summer, grabbing a magazine from the pocket at the small of his back. Steve motioned the women to follow him and got out of the lab only to see Bucky running full speed toward a group of armed men. He sent his shield flying ahead and caught up with his friend.

"You can get to them from afar with it," he reminded him.

"Yes, I know. Just more satisfactory to crunch it in their face."


	10. White Wolf

**Disclaimer** : never did and never will own it. Marvel does.  
 **Spoilers** : canon until Captain America: Civil War (and the post-credit scenes of Black Panther).  
 **Timeline** : supposedly happens between Avengers Infinity War and Avengers 4.

* * *

Steve had a reminiscing of Bucharest, when he had to make sure that Bucky's careless fighting would not kill anyone – even though he had promised he wouldn't. Then he frowned. He didn't have to care about the damages Bucky was causing to the people they were currently fighting. They were not policemen or Special Forces, they were sent by Summer's employer.

"Summer, didn't they try to kill you?"

"Thanks for reminding me. I know. Guess they decided I was no more useful. No, you don't go that way!"

"Tony, where are you?"

"Coming back as fast as we can. FRIDAY says there are all kinds of officials making their way toward New Avengers Facility."

"Hurry faster or there won't be a New Avengers Facility to come to. Bucky is on full destroying mode and..."

There was an angry shout behind them, as Summer got between a gunman and LeAnn, shooting him in the process. Bucky growled savagely.

"And I think it's just gotten worse," Steve concluded. "Summer, report?"

"I'm fine. He didn't hit me or anyone. They don't know how to shoot!"

"Cap, are you helping Barnes or just looking at him?"

"Looking, actually. It reminds me of the times Thor hit my shield with his hammer. People fly out of Bucky's path exactly the same way. Pretty impressive. Summer, where did that gunman come from?"

"Uh? Oh, the ceiling."

"FRIDAY, is it possible to secure the ceilings?"

"Immediately, Captain."

Bucky turned around. "Where are the other people? Normally, there are people everywhere in here. Did everyone go in hiding? How did those guys know where to find Dr Cho and Dr Daniels?"

LeAnn wanted badly to accuse Summer, but she had just witnessed her risking her life to protect her, so she didn't say anything. Summer seemed to know what she thought.

"Not me. I'm trying to prove him I'm trustworthy, that wouldn't be smart to betray you."

"Steve, we need to check the whole building."

"FRIDAY, any sighting of unwanted people?"

"In the apartments' aisle, armed people. In the working aisle, they were all around the labs."

"Why is there nobody in the labs?"

"Uh... Mr. Barnes, it's late. People have stopped working," Maria Hill said.

"Oh, right. So they're all in the apartments' aisle?"

"No, Bucky, they went home."

"It's not safe outside!"

"Something like two hours ago. By the main entrance."

Bucky looked lost for a moment and Steve could almost see him run the plans of the compound in his head.

"Oh. The main entrance. Right. Let's go securing the rest."

"We're almost here," Tony announced. "Can anyone welcome the officials?"

"Send the Iron Legion. Perimeter is not secure and we're not risking lives," Steve replied.

"Secretary Ross is going to love that!"

"We can let them shoot him if he prefers."

"By the way, FRIDAY informed me that she found whoever was spying on you from the outside. She's having him dispatched right now."

-o-o-

While following Bucky – at a more leisurely pace, since the four women could not run as fast – Steve wondered if he preferred this version of Bucky or the one he had fought with against the Red Skull. He had not felt comfortable leading Bucky, though his friend had never said anything. Bucky had always protected him and suddenly, because of a bottle as would say Tony, he was ordering him around? It had felt wrong. But, now, though they had shared some missions together or in groups, Bucky obviously felt better on his own. Summer put her hand on his arm and Steve started.

"He was the best. Nobody could keep up with him, so he was often alone." Then she had a wry smile. "That's what they told us, but they weren't really forthright."

"Yeah. He has been a long time alone."

"But it's getting better. _He_ 's getting better."

"You think?"

"How much time elapsed between the helicarriers and Bucharest?"

"Two years."

"What was the last thing he had done?"

"Saving my life. Probably going to the Smithsonian, he said he had read about me in a museum."

"Why didn't he come to you in two years?"

"Because he thought he couldn't trust me."

"Yeah, right. You must have said something to him on the helicarrier that awakened his memories, something telling him that you still cared for him. So why didn't he come to you?"

Steve realised where she was leading him. "Because he felt guilty. He wasn't sure I would really forgive him, because he can't forgive himself."

"Now, he knows."

"Did they teach you that?"

"Of course not. If he stayed in hiding, it was because he knew not whom to report to." She smirked. "That's stupid. But worse, I believed them!"

They heard some shouts, some shots and then the sound of bodies falling down. Steve almost ran forward before looking at the four women. Swallowing back a sigh, he remained put.

"Why don't you go help him?" LeAnn asked.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Hello! Dangerous zone here, and little spy around. Can't trust her and can't let Ms Hill defend the three of you on her own."

"Didn't say anything about not trusting you," Steve said.

"You are a horrible liar."

"Had you wanted it, you could have shot one or several of us yet, though probably at the cost of your life. With Bucky this far gone..."

"Playing test the spy? You know as well as I that he's not 'this far gone'. He's probably ready to throw that shield back if needed."

"Maybe not throw the shield, but come get you," Bucky said. "What are you doing? We still have several floors to check."

If Steve thought that Summer's smile was a little infatuated, he didn't say anything.

-o-o-

When the two Quinjets landed, the officials were surrounded by several Iron Legion robots, all repeating, "This area is not safe. Please do not move, we are here to help."

"Tony! What does it mean?"

"Secretary Ross! It means what they say. The Facility has been under attack for the past hours, as you can see."

"What I can see is that the Winter Soldier was seen in here and I told you to keep him for me and–"

"And I told you I wasn't there so I couldn't. Which also explains why I couldn't welcome you. I have a life. I don't spend all my time in the compound."

"Are you implying you didn't know James Buchanan Barnes was here?"

"What? Of course, I knew. I wouldn't have left if not for Barnes and then, we would have had a grave crisis to manage. Fortunately, he was there, so crisis averted and everybody at home for dinner. Uh, late dinner."

"Where _is_ he?"

"Securing the perimeter, I think. We have an intrusion in the aisle where people live and he's making sure they don't intrude anymore and that my people are safe. The usual. Ah, here he is! Barnes, Secretary Ross was becoming impatient!"

The look Bucky turned toward the Secretary was none too amiable. "Was he? Some people over there were also. They didn't like the outcome."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Considering where you want to send me, I prefer to have a good reason to end up there."

"You don't consider have killed countless people a good reason?"

"No. It wasn't me. I even have several reports from eminent scientists confirming that none of this is my fault. I still have to see the report confirming that the Hulk and the Abomination are none of your fault as well as your behaviour after that."

Secretary Ross turned purple and managed to say, "Bucharest."

"Didn't kill anyone and yes, Steve, some of them are still alive thanks to you because I misjudged my strength when pushing them back and it ended up with them above the railing."

"Berlin."

"Under mind control. I get tired of justifying myself for things I couldn't fight. Why didn't anyone question you after you forced Banner to create the Hulk? Why are you given responsibilities about managing the Avengers when you only know to fight fire with fire?"

He took a deep breath. "I have no problem with facing justice for what I did, if it's what you want. But I will not be accountable to _you_ for them and I will not be held accountable for the crimes I committed under mind control. Before you protest that I lie and nobody can prove I was under mind control, since most of those who knew are dead and the others not in a hurry to testify, just look it over the Internet. Zemo found it here, so you should be able to. As for the other people I killed... During the Second World War, as a sniper, I killed quite a few German soldiers, though nobody found fault with that. Lately, now that I'm free from HYDRA, I've been trying to make up for all those lives I stole despite myself. If I killed an innocent during this time, then yes, I am accountable for it."

"May I present you the intelligence behind the operations of today, which avoided a large conflict?" T'Challa interrupted. "Namely one James Buchanan Barnes."

Everett Ross stepped from behind Secretary Ross. "Hello, T'Challa. What operations?"

A tiny gasp was heard from behind Bucky.

"Father?"

-o-o-

"LeAnn! What are you doing here?"

"Ah... Uh, they called me about a victim of HYDRA, someone brainwashed. Then, there has been this attack..."

Everett Ross's eyes went to Summer, who still had Bucky's gun in her hand. She had a little wave. "Brainwashed victim here, sir."

"Is it common to hand over weapons to brainwashed people?"

"We brainwashed people understand each other."

Everett suddenly realised something and turned toward T'Challa.

"She said 'another broken white guy'. You cured Barnes while I was Wakanda!"

T'Challa had a pleased smile. "Show him your true colours, Bucky."

Said Bucky glared at him. "You had to ask."

He removed his left sleeve and right glove, then put his bare right hand on the top of his bionic arm. For a moment, nothing happened, then a faint buzzing sound was heard. When Bucky removed his hand, where on his previous arm there had been the red star, now were a black panther's head and a white wolf's head.

"May I present you White Wolf, the head of my intelligence service? The data I've given you lately all came from him."

Bucky winced. "From the team," he mumbled.

"You understood the whole picture from bits and pieces."

"True, old man, give yourself some credits," Tony said, clapping his shoulder. "The last two you told us about...?"

"FBI should have received their file by now. Romanoff, I had one of them sent to you."

But Everett was not really listening. "Are you telling me you left my daughter in the care of this madman?"

"First of all, we didn't know she was your daughter..." Tony began.

"Then I remained with her during this attack, considering she might trust me a little more," Steve continued.

"Bucky is a dear and I feel absolutely safe with him!" LeAnn affirmed.

"Am I under arrest or what?"

Secretary Ross opened his mouth, looked an instant in the direction of Everett Ross for support, then closed his mouth. Everett was obviously still digesting his daughter's words.

"No," he said grudgingly.

"Good. White Wolf, would you come back with me to Wakanda?"

Bucky hesitated and looked at Steve. His friend had a smile. "Keep in touch."

"Go, go," Tony said. "We'll smooth things over with Cap. Send us some data from time to time and come back running when we call you. You can take the Quinjet, so that you can come back faster."

Bucky had a sheepish smile.

-o-o-

Steve came to hug him.

"Stay safe."

"You too. Sorry for your nose." He turned to Sam. "Keep an eye on him for me."

Sam had a laugh. "I will, when he's not in Wakanda to visit you!"

The others gave him more or less formal departure wishes while Wanda ran to him and hugged him fiercely.

"You sweet, sweet man."

"What did I do?"

"Enough."

"Breathe, man!" Sam yelled.

"What did I say?" Wanda exclaimed.

"Old dialog, back after Berlin. He had had a Winter Soldier episode."

"Oh! Bucky, it's all right. You did nothing wrong. I'm sorry. I just wanted to thank you for steering Vis in the right direction."

"Uh, Vis? Oh! Oh, okay. Glad for you, little sister. Do I have to give him the speech 'don't hurt my sister or I disembowel you'?"

"It should be okay." Wanda laughed.

"Be careful. If I don't, Thanos will."

"We'll work on that."

Bucky actually smiled at LeAnn when he took his leave from her – not caring one iota for Everett's glare. She hugged him tightly and even kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for everything. Thanks to you, I'll be fine now. I'll be my own therapist, but I'll deal with it."

T'Challa returned inside the Quinjet. Bucky started to follow him then turned around, his eyes in Summer's.

"Want to come?"

She gaped.

"I could offer you a job," he continued. "Skills like yours would be useful. Not the assassinations on orders. The spy thing."

She looked at him, surprised, then had a sad smile. "I have no loyalty to Wakanda. My only loyalty would be to you."

He shrugged carelessly. "Need to start somewhere. The question would be: how strong?"

"Body, mind, heart and soul," she replied seriously.

"Might do. Hop on!"

He took the place of the pilot, settled in and started the Quinjet.

"Nakia?"

"Yes, White Wolf?"

"Have someone probe into the past and present of one Thaddeus Ross. He irks me."

"At once, White Wolf."

Next to him, T'Challa was sporting a definitive smug smile.

-o-o-

A few weeks later, Doctor LeAnn Daniels, still at New Avengers Facility, received an enormous crate. Curious, Doctor Helen Cho, who was working just next door, came to investigate. She found her reading a thick letter, bemused, all the while looking at expensive-looking high-tech equipment.

"What's all that?"

"It's from Bucky."

Helen couldn't resist a little jab. "Bucky, huh?"

LeAnn didn't answer. It wasn't as if it was the first time. After all, only days after his departure, he had sent some Shuri-selected equipment to deal with her traumatic memories of Summer's tortures, along with the word that Shuri had dealt personally with Summer's mind. "He's given me the entire file on Dr Banner, plus he says that the equipment here, selected by Shuri, should help us."

"Help us what? Why us?"

"Separate Dr Banner from the Hulk. Or maybe simply allowing Dr Banner to control the Hulk. Not yet very clear."

"Any news about Secretary Ross?"

"Yes. It was found by some committee that he should answer for some things he did earlier, so he retired from public life."

"And your father?"

"Officially retired." She laughed. "We'll hear from him sooner or later. Idleness doesn't sit well with him."

"How are the nightmares going?" Helen asked softly.

"Better. I have one per week, something like that. Tolerable."

Helen didn't ask how she coped. She knew she had a message on her voicemail, one Bucky had left the very day he had left. LeAnn still didn't know how he had reached her voicemail since she was sure she had been next to her phone at that moment. Helen knew LeAnn played this message after each nightmare. Once, Everett had caught her doing that and he had told her about Zemo doing the same. It had not deterred her.

"Any news on Thor?" LeAnn asked innocently.

"Not since he lost his eye."

"We're hopeless as for men, though mine is not a god, so more accessible."

Helen threw her a side glance. "But there's Summer by his side all the time. Still, he thinks of you, which is more than I can tell about Thor, who doesn't even know I exist." She sighed and elbowed LeAnn. "Come, do tell, what else did Bucky say?"

LeAnn snickered. "Shuri sent a video."

"Oh, let's see!"

-o-o-

It was a footage of T'Challa announcing to Bucky that Summer had been accepted among the Dora Milaje. Bucky seemed happy for that part of the news. He didn't appreciate the following one.

"And she's named your personal bodyguard."

"What? Are you out of your mind? I am the Winter Soldier, I don't need a bodyguard!" His outrage was hilarious.

"I have also."

"You're the king! Protocol and such. For me, it's undignified!"

"You're the second most important man of the country, White Wolf."

"No, I'm not. Shuri is."

"I said 'man'. We agree that Shuri and my mother are the most important women of the country." He caught Nakia's elbow before she would jab him.

"Still. People will wonder."

"People are already wondering, my friend."

Bucky protested some more, then caught Shuri recording the whole thing and started after her. She threw her phone to someone else and the last image of the video was Bucky tackling her down while she was laughing. There was a smile on his face too and Helen didn't comment when LeAnn paused the video just there.

Another few weeks later, Bucky received a single word from Natasha. "Thanks." He grinned and showed the message to Steve and Summer.

"White Wolf! Training time!" Nakia called.

"Come on, puppies, we are awaited."

As Bucky flung his arm around Summer's shoulders, Steve smiled at seeing his friend finally at peace. Well, for the time it would last... The last message from Thor seemed to indicate that Thanos was on the move again.


End file.
